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The European Dream
Start date: Jan 20, 2015, End date: Oct 20, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

This project was inspired by the sculpture SÓLFARIÐ which is made of stainless steel, designed by Jón Gunnar situated at the old harbour of Reykjavik. It seems to show a dreamboat heading towards the sun, but for the participants of the project it could have a multi-layered meaning regarding dreams of young Europeans for the future and how are young Europeans alike today. The project included 51 participants from Italy, Iceland and Germany. The German group consisted of 16 participants (14 youth and 2 trainers). The Italian group consisted of 17 participants (15 youth and 2 trainers). The Icelandic group consisted of 18 participants (16 youth and 2 trainers). The whole German and Icelandic groups had had training in drama, dance, theatre and/or music, both in a formal and non-formal way. The experience for the Italan group in these artistic matters varied. Some had a lot of experience in dance for example, while others had never participated in a drama/theatre project. The project idea was based on drama and education techniques which encouraged the students to share their ideas, dreams, hopes or fears not only in words but also by means of body and movement, which served to create both confidence and a strong feeling of community. The questions addressed in the theme were: what is the status of immigrants and especially immigrant children in each country. Can we relate to them in any way? How are immigrants depicted in the media? What does it mean to be a young person in Europe today? Is it the same as being a youn immigrant? What are our common dreams for the future? What are our common goals in life? How do we try to visualize our dreams? Is there a common theme that can be found within the youth? This was done through a very democratic method of drama and theatre. Each individual brought something to the table and with all these 51 different individuals the possibilities were endless. To begin with, the trainers reflected with the participants of the issues facing young Europeans. Also, to begin with, each country shared stories about immigrants that they knew about. Or the country shared how immigrants are depicted in that specific country. During the week, different methods of theatre and drama were used to visualize and realize these issues on stage. In the end, a final performance was devised from all the material that the participants brought to the table and it was shown to an audience in Garðabær, Iceland. The process of creating the performance was an important part of the project because it is there where the participants meat, communicated, built creative and social relationships and became interculturaly aware. One of the results was a performance shown once in Fjölbrautaskólinn í Garðabær. Furthermore, one of the important result was a documentary made by some participants which will document the process as a whole. In the end, the documentary was premiered in Fjölbrautaskólinn í Garðabæ also in the partner organizations in Italy, Germany and France. It will also be uploaded to an open website for anyone to see and learn. The project as a whole will be evaluated through Youthpass so that the trainers/teachers will learn the most from the process for future projects. One of the main objectives is to let the youth of Europe meet during a creative process that is non-formal, educational, cultural and social event. When young people make friends from other European countries, it's like something magical happens. Even though the work and performance themselves is always important, it is most often about them making new friends, communicating in different languages, learning about other cultures and being together which is the most important to them. This is one of the main objective of this project; to make Europe a little smaller and bring people closer together. One of the participants in her feedback about the project in March said that it "changed her life". The results of the project went past all expectations of the leaders. The group of 45 youth worked very well together and were highly ambitious and enthusiastic both about the artistic work and also the topic itself. The final performance was very well received, so much even that some audience members cried. Furthermore, the documentary that the youth created during the project shows an invaluable insight into what projects like these mean on very broad terms. The documentary will be premiered on October 27th in the host school, Fjölbrautaskólinn í Garðabær. After that it will be sent to the participating organisations and uploaded to the internet for anyone to view and watch.

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