City was a youth exchange where 50 youngsters from four different countries explored the “city” and their own identity through interactive theater. In 2000 the theater group “Ung Terra Nova” hosted foreign youth leaders who participated in a short study visit arranged by Cirius, with the subject “Music and Theater”. Ung Terra Nova made good connections with youth leaders from theater groups in Germany, Ireland and the Shetland Islands, and this became the start of years with cooperation about four youth exchanges.
The youth leaders decided that Ung Terra Nova should be the hosts for the first youth exchange. It was called “City – phase 1”, and the youngsters should create interactive city landscapes based on the youths exploring of the city and their own identity. The youngsters and the leaders of four groups used the year 2000 to discuss the time, goals and program for the exchange, and to the 1st of February deadline 2001 Ung Terra Nova sent the application.
Preparation meeting
In the process of preparation the youngsters agreed that the exchange would be focused on antiracism, xenophobia and general youth problems. With the focus on these subjects the youngsters applied to their town and local community, and made a performance or a happening to mirror their local area and the participants own situation and identity. These national happenings / performances were showed to the other countries’ participants in the beginning of the exchange, so that the youngsters could have an understanding of each others’ artistic ways of expression.
Activities
During the exchange the participants were separated into six different working groups. Every group had participants from all countries, to make sure all the countries different artistic expressions and thoughts would be represented. This way the participants got a greater intercultural understanding for each others’ situation. Every working group should prepare a happening or a performance which they could show to the public the last day of the exchange. The working groups decided that the different happenings should contain elements which the participants found important for young people, no matter if they live in a city or a village, for example:
Friendship and acceptation of differences
How do people react to persons who look different (handicapped, other ethnicity, other way of dressing etc.)
How do commercials affect peoples’ buying habits
Do people react on the street if someone gets hurt or attacked
Do people want to be and look like each other or they try to keep their own identity
How do young people get affected in their teenage / grown-up life if they have experienced harassment or problems in the home
All the working groups put their performances / happenings in different places / streets in Vesterbro in Copenhagen, and from this the local community and tourists got an idea and were informed about the exchange.
The cooperation between the four theater groups have been followed up by projects in Ireland, on the Shetland Islands and in Germany.
Personal development
Through the exchange period the participants developed themselves personally, and some of the comments from the evaluation were:
“It has been a fun week full of learning”
“Artistically I learned a lot, and they used working methods which made us better at making decisions”
“We did a great impression on the audience, just like the audience surprised us by ‘playing along’. It was really an interesting experience.”
“We have really produced something here that we can continue working on, developing artistically in the future projects”
“The whole process was a challenge which really craved a big effort from the entire group, and we noticed how important it is to cooperate well in order to achieve a result.”
“It was ambitious, but we made it!”
“I got some friendships for life.”
