ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BOOKLET-INSIGHT INTO THE TRAINING COURSE
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ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT P R E R O V C Z E C H
ABOUT
R E P U B L I C
Training course ‘Art for Community Development’ was realized from 25.04. - 02.05. 2015 by group of people active in youth work who came back to Prerov (the project venue) after several years of living and living abroad with aim to provide especially young people from Prerov an opportunity to meet, discover and learn. Training course ‘Art for Community Development’ aimed to increase the competencies of 28 participants to use different arts based activities such as drawing, painting, storytelling, theatre improvisation and photography for their self-development at one side and for development of their communities on the other side. By this project we are addressing the need of the participants (youth workers, leaders and project managers – generally these who are actively working with young people) for selfand professional development and the interest to work on improvement of the quality of the learning youth services using art as the main tool of learning. AIMS of training course: • To deepen participants knowledge of the concept of arts-based training, its methods, techniques and tools; • To increase participants understanding of arts-based training through sharing practical examples of applying this concept at various settings - youth work, business, social enterprise etc. • To develop participants competencies to apply arts-based training in their practice and work with young people including young people with fewer opportunities; • To develop participants creativity, communication, problem solving, presentation, teamwork, leadership competencies through arts-based activities; • To increase the quality of activities targeting young people and reflecting on new ways of delivering activities aiming at the personal and professional development of young people; • To provide the participants an opportunity to share good working practices from their organizations, reflect on common challenges and create new networks and contacts; • To strengthen participants‘ understanding of Erasmus+ Programme and its Key Actions and provide the participants an opportunity to develop ideas for future cooperation.
APPLICAN/HOST: NEFORMÁLNÍ SKUPINA RE:CONNECT
PARTNERS: ASOCIACION CULTURAL SENDE ( S P A I N ) PIEPILDITO SAPNU ISTABA ( L A T V I A ) A.C.T.O.R. ( R O M A N I A ) ROTA JOVEM ( P O R T U G A L ) CEMEA FRANCHE COMTÉ ( F R A N C E ) STOWARZYSZENIE MIA ( P O L A N D ) IMPAKT SKOPJE ( M A C E D O N I A )
ERASMUS + PROGRAMME KEY ACTION 1 IMPLEMENTED WITH SUPPPORT OF DUM ZAHRANICNICH SLUZEB ( H T T P : / / W W W . D Z S . C Z / ) .
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVITIES
Training course ‘Art for Community Development’ was based on non-formal education and included various nonformal based activities. The first part of the training course included especially name games, ice-breakers and teambuilders that were implemented with aim to break the barriers among the participants and create safe and open environment. Among others following activities were implemented in this part of the program: Name Games: Story of the Name: the participants are asked to write down their name and say a story connected with their names. Name and Move: the participants are asked to say their name and make a move. The other person need to repeat previous moves and add own one. 30 seconds of fame: each participant has for 30 second an space to stand up in front of the others and use the time that is measure to make others remember their names as well as to share anything what he/she about himself/herself. Team building activity – Mission (IM)possible?: the participants are working as one team, they receive list of tasks that they are asked to full field them in certain amount the time. Among other the participants are e.g. asked to make a poem and write down in all languages that they are speaking, write down all reasons why they decided to take part in the training course etc. Besides getting to know each other activities the focus of the first day was also put on reviewing the program and project flow and reflecting on the participants expectations towards the project e.g. through following activity based on visual inputs. Around the room are spread various pictures/photo the participants are asked to mingle around and choose these photos and pictures that they relate to their fears and expectations. At the moment when everyone has chosen his/her pictures. The participants are sharing their fears and expectation in the circle. After all participants share the expectations and fears are reviewed by the experts and sum up. After reviewing the needs and expectations the participants also discuss the key elements of non-formal education and got familiar with Youth Pass and key learning competencies.
What is Youthpass?
What are key learning competencies?
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
PHOTOS
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
The key topic of the training course was arts-based approach in relation to community development. If you are asking an question: “Do community-based arts projects result in social gains?“ We recommend to check out following links: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/commarts.pdf and http://www.lacountyarts.org/UserFiles/File/CivicArt/Civic%20Engagment%20Arts%20Based%20Community%20De velop%20BCleveland%20Paper1%20Key.pdf.
ACTIVITIES
During the sessions focused on arts-based approach the participants were reflecting on this question as well while they were gaining deeper insight in to arts-based approach and were getting familiar with the roots and experiences different uses of arts-based approach in practice especially in relation with youth work and personal development. Through the discussion the participants e.g. reflected on questions such as “What are “arts-based teaching and learning” practices? How are arts-based teaching and learning practices implemented? What are the effects of arts-based teaching and learning practices?” Moreover they were also improving their abilities to apply arts-based approach at their daily work with young people with aim to address their needs and interests and support their personal and professional development. One of the activities implemented during this part of the session was Empathy Map. The activity was individual one. At the start of the activity the participants were asked to create empathy map of young people. It means to write down or draw the answers on following questions: “What the young people feel, what the young person need?” After creating this empathy map the participants were divided in several intercultural teams and created the Map of Needs and Interests of Young People. The next step was again take place in the setting of small groups. Each group was representing NGO working with specific group of young people and their task was to brainstorm ideas for artsbased activities that would respond on the needs of young people, reflected local conditions and specifics and contributed to their development.
Do community-based arts projects result in social gains?
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
PHOTOS
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVITIES
Together with exploring arts-based approach the participants reflected on various aspects of their communities. One of the activity gave them also an opportunity to think about their dream communities. During this activity the participants were asked to write down a speech in which they would share with others their ‘dream’, the change that they would like to see in long-term perspective happening in their communities. They were asked to be concrete as much possible in their speeches and also to share concrete steps leading to their vision e.g. I would like that more young people finish high school at my city. After sharing their speeches with others the participants were asked to make a list of the obstacles preventing them to reach their dreams. After several mix-intercultural groups were created. Each group received one of these obstacles and the task was to brainstorm and come up with ideas for overcoming these challenges by using various techniques with which the participants became familiar with reverse brainstorming, LOTUS or 5 Why? exercise that is based on asking questions going deeper and deeper into the issues and after on looking on new connections among elements that look at the first moment impossible to connect. Final step of the activity was sharing and discussing the proposed suggestions with aim to empower the participants to make everything possible to make their dream come true.
What would your dream community look like? In your dream community, who would you be?
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
PHOTOS
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVITIES
TImportant part of the training course were activities focus on strengthening the participants understanding of Erasmus + Programme. During one of the session the participants were divided in several multicultural groups. Each group received question and was asked to share their experiences and prepare presentation for others. The groups were e.g. asked “What is important to consider in case of EVS from the side of hosting organization, sending organization and the volunteer? What is the difference between youth exchange and training course? How to effectively disseminate the project results? How to make project visible and motivate especially young people to become part of it?” After sharing their presentations the participants discussed their experiences in area of Erasmus +/Youth in Action Programme. The participants talked about the structure of the programme and the role of EACEA, National Agencies or SALTOs, the division of the programme into Key Action and their specifics. One of the most appealing question that appeared during the discussion was question: “How to include young people with fewer opportunities into the programme? or How to increase the quality of the activities that are being implemented under Erasmus +?”. Would like to more about Erasmus+? Check out following links: Erasmus + Programme HomePage http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/index_en.htm Contact List of National Agencies http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/tools/national-agencies/index_en.htm Dům zahraničních služeb (Czech National Agency) www.dzs.cz
What is Erasmus + Programme?
SALTO youth website (training calender, toolbox, OTLAS – tool for finding new partners and much more) www.salto-youth.net/
What you would like to experience youth exchange, EVS or training course?
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
PHOTOS
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVITIES
In second half of the training course the participants had an opportunity to increase their creative skills and try out various activities in following areas: creative writing, visualization and performing art. Besides improving own competencies the participants were also reflecting how they can include these activities at their work with young people and local communities. In case of performing art day the participants took part in workshops lead by performing artist Mischa Badasyan (www.mischabadasyan.com) currently living and working in Berlin. During the performing art day the participants created several activities based on interaction with local community and they had an opportunity to implement these activities in the project venue, Prerov, and reflect on the way how local community reacted on their performances and how these activities can be transfer in their communities to support interaction with the community, exchanging ideas and learn from each other. Besides improving their competencies in the area of performing art the participants took part in several exercises aiming to strength the participants understanding what’s creativity, how to deal with creative blocks or how to use various objects of daily use to support creative process. One of the activities was e.g. activity ‘Unordinary use of Ordinary Object’. The participants were divided into several working groups. Each groups received an object of daily use e.g. a pot and was asked to brainstorm how many new uses of this object how possible. After the groups were sharing their results and reflecting on following questions: When you feel creative? When you do not feel creative? What you can do to support young people to feel creative and take part in creative activities? How we can break the blocks that prevents us to be creative?
Are you creative?
Were you ever discouraged? If so, how did it it affect your creativity?
What is creativity to you?
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
PHOTOS
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVITIES
How to Work with ‘Stories’ and ‘Storytelling’ at Youth Work that was the key question of the sessions focused on exploring storytelling and the ways how storytelling can be used at work with young people including young people with fewer opportunities. Firstly, the participants had an opportunity to explore several creative writing prompts (short creative writing exercises): “If you only had 24 hours to live, how would you spend your day?, If you had to be any of these things, which would you like to be? a) a member of the opposite sex, b) a clock, c) a pair of shoes, d) a duck.“ After sharing the short stories participants took part in activities focused on awaking senses and intercultural learning activities implemented with aim to provide the participants an opportunity to reflect on the ways how creative writing can be used in the process of intercultural learning. The Danger of the Single Story Activity. Specific Learning Objective of the activity are to increase participant’s understanding how stereotypes and prejudices are being created, what are the origins of discrimination and through discussion and sharing participants’ life stories to increase participants’ intercultural understanding. The activity can be opened by explanation of the words stereotype, prejudices and discrimination and the process how they are being created. After discussing these terms the participants watch the TED speech of novelist Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story available online, link: http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en. After listening the talk the facilitator make sure that the participants understand the concept of the single story and the participants are asked to write down their own single stories and share them with others. After reading their texts following questions can be discussed: “Do you think that we can be stereotyped, prejudices free? How we can fight discrimination?” Awaking HEARING Activity Participant are asked to close their eyes, find comfortable position and listen instrumental song. After the song finish the participants are asked to write down a text reflecting their feelings/associations that the song bring to them. Time for writing can be limited to 20 - 30 minutes. After participants are encouraged to share their texts. Last step of the activity is to reveal the name of the song. Song suggestions: Max Richter: Sarajevo
How to work with stories and storytelling at youth work ?
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
PHOTOS
ART FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
CLOSING UP
Last part of the training course was focused on developing new ideas for future projects that the participants could implemented at local or international level. During the work on new project ideas the participants were supported by the project team that also provided feedback on presented idea and share practical tips for its implementation. Final step of the training course ‘Art for community development’ was final evaluation session during which the participants had an opportunity to express their feedback by filling in final evaluation form as well as the participants gave feedback to each other by writing personal messages to each other. And what happened after everyone left home? Based on the feedback we know that several ideas developed during the training course became real and we were more than happy to hear that. Some of the ideas were also applied under Key Action 1 on October deadline 2015 so let’s see if the projects will be approved and provide other youth workers and leaders an opportunity to develop their competencies in area of art. PS: If you are wondering about Erasmus + Programme. We can just say: “Just do It!” And explore, learn and transfer new things to your community!