Youth Exchange Programme
8—17 July 2022, Berlin
14—23 October 2022, Chisinau
14—23 October 2022, Chisinau
urban space as a gamefield
If we look at urban spaces as a gamefield, what rules would we change?
In the programme Time to Act, within two offline trips to Germany and Moldova, online meetings and final event in Berlin, 16 participants explored urban spaces via participatory art techniques and urban exploratory tools. During activities, we were rethinking urban spaces around us through creative practices and developing new ideas about what our cities could look like.
○ What can we do to develop diversity-conscious, sustainable and social youth places in our cities?
○ What are our visions for the future of our cities?
○ How can we communicate our needs to others and find support?
○ What can we do to develop diversity-conscious, sustainable and social youth places in our cities?
○ What are our visions for the future of our cities?
○ How can we communicate our needs to others and find support?
The youth exchange programme consisted of on-site explorations, small interventions and performances, embodiment practices, participatory theatre practices and the development of urban board games as a project outcome. The combination of multiscalar approaches helped us to build a special space within the group based on mutual support and a sense of belonging to a community. Diverse participants' backgrounds and unique skills enhanced the learning process and project results.
During our meetings, we:
During our meetings, we:
- experimented with creative participatory strategies and methods that take the city as a playground and citizens as players
- did small intervention practices to experience places differently and to play with an image of a city
- worked with maps of our hometowns and tested our ideas on the real urban spaces
- сreated own urban participative game performances, involving the local audience
Our approach within the programme
peer-to-peer learning
The design of activities gave enough space for joint decision making about the content and final result. We found the very process of interaction precious, as well as the willingness of the participants to share their opinions and ideas.
pro-activity and collective responsibility
The results directly depended on the participants' input as applied methods show a broad variety for independent actions and gently guide the participants through this process.
Sandbox of organisers and experts
- Natasha BorenkoCurator of the educational programmeFluid theatre maker. Born in Siberia, based in Berlin. Creates theatre- and art projects using methods of Game Design, Theatre of the Oppressed, participatory, documentary and site-specific theatre. Her participatory performances she co-makes with local communities and diverse groups of citizens. She also initiates international peacekeeping art projects made by interdisciplinary horizontally-structured collaborations between artists, educators, peacebuilders and activists.
- Anastasia PuschkarewaProject Coordinator, moderatorImplements non-formal educational and exchange projects for young people and professionals in the field of urban activism, promoting their engagement and participation, e.g.: „Act Out Loud", „Design and share your city", „Arts in urban places. (Re)invent and create" and others.
- Lera RumiantsevaProject Coordinator, moderatorInitiator and curator of urban projects and informal events in cities. Inspired by the power of urban grassroots activism. Has been leading urban gardening community for 4 years and initiative of the river development in St. Petersburg since 2018. Loves observing and touching urban plants around.
- Elena SteinExpertSociologist and political scientist, has been heading the CISR e.V. since its creation as the CEO of the organization. She is involved in the development and realization of numerous projects. Elena specializes in the organizational structure of NGOs and is a coach and trainer in the area of team development, social startups, analysis, and consultation of internal organizational processes as well as presentation and moderating skills.
- Vitalie CîrhanăFacilitator, partner in MoldovaTrainer in personal and professional development, quality of youth work and non-formal education. Director of "MilleniuM" Training and Development Institute since 2000 is experienced project manager in developing and operating national and international projects. Member of Pool of Trainers in SALTO EECA, with an ample background in youth field, formal and non-formal education.
- Pasha AndreevFacilitatorProducer of cultural, urban and educational projects. For seven years he led night tours of the abandoned park. Together with the community, he arranged 1 km of the banks of the Volga River. Likes to dance on the streets of new cities. Night Mayor of Ulyanovsk City from 2019 to 2022.
Organisers
CISR e.V. focuses on the support of civil society actors in post-socialist states and Eastern Europe. It implements research, capacity building, educational non-formal projects etc. for young people and experts, from the fields of urban activism, media, gender, migration, social sciences and others.
NGO MilleniuM implements programs in the field of personal, organisational and community development. It promotes non-formal education by encouraging civic initiative and youth work at the local level and across Moldova.
The project is funded under the grant program "MEET UP! Youth for Partnership" by the Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ) Foundation and the Federal Foreign Office.
Partners
