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Positieve identiteitsontwikkeling door circuseducatie: een sleutel tot een succesvolle superdiverse samenleving
Start date: May 1, 2016, End date: Apr 30, 2017 PROJECT  FINISHED 

This exchange program will bring together 30 young people from two circus schools in Belgium and Palestine, aged between 18 and 30 years, during 2 exchange moments, with one encounter of 13 days in Brussels in July 2016 and 1 encounter of 10 days in Palestine in December 2016. The exchange is the start-up of a long term strategic cooperation between 2 social-inclusive circus schools, the Palestinian Circus School in Birzeit, Ramallah and Circus Zonder Handen in Brussels. Both circus schools work on a daily basis in a very vulnerable environment, with young people from different backgrounds and walks of life, choosing to engage them in the unifying power of superdiversity and inclusion.With this exchange we will bring youngsters from Brussels in contact with young circus students (aspiring to become teachers) and teachers from Palestine. These participants represent the diversity of both circus schools at the levels of their background, socio-economic profiles and experience.During two exchange moments, in July 2016 in Brussels and in December 2016 in Palestine, the participants will engage in an intense exchange at the cultural, religious, circus technical and didactical levels. All in the framework of promoting the development of a positive identity. This development entails 3 layers: the level of both circus schools that search for a grip and a new identity within the very challenging environments they work, the level of the participants and their development as circus teachers and active citizens in their societies and in last instance all participants and their own individual development.Circus as a methodology is the leading theme throughout the entire project. By training circus together, by creating numbers together, by presenting them for an audience,.. in short by ‘doing’ circus together, the exchange and connection between the participants will arise.The strong inclusive character of this exchange will provoke very interesting mutual discoveries and developments: young circus teachers with different profiles meet and will jointly discuss themes as religion, gender, position of young people and females in society, each time in relation to the circus practice and aims in each country. This way the youth will be confronted in a safe setting with a very diverse palette of worldviews and are offered the chance to critically reflect about their own culture, religion and society at large.The expected results of this exchange will manifest at different levels:• The two circus schools that participate will be strengthened in their organizational identity and expertise which will allow an even better understanding and approach to realize their mission in the future• The participants will grow as individuals and as current or future circus teachers which will have a further impact on their direct social environment and on the many students in the circus school with whom they will workOn top of that, the experiences and lessons learned of this exchange will be gathered in a very attractive and accessible work tool which can function as an incubator and inspiring model for other circus and youth work like programs to further develop and promote the work with vulnerable children and youth from an all-inclusive perspective.On the long term, we want to contribute to the empowerment of (vulnerable) children and youth all over the world through the methodology of circus. By offering them a positive alternative to express themselves and to relate to the societies in which they grow up. We reach out to them with a tool in which they can constructively engage and contribute to the development of their societies, from an active citizenship.This way we want to reduce the many prejudices of the general public opinion about these youngsters by showing that, when vulnerable children and youth worldwide, are given the same opportunities and choices as all other average child, they also will evolve to become positive, creative and active world citizens.
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