“Intercultural actors” in Italy
Morfasso, 15th May 2024 Sciara Progetti
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“Inter-Cultural Actors”
Youth Exchange
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Between May 6th and 15th, a youth exchange took place in Morfasso, Italy,
entitled “Intercultural Actors”, focusing on understanding and exchanging cultures through acting and improvisation.
At the commencement of the Erasmus+ program, several activities were conducted
aimed at acquainting participants, including ice-breaking exercises and team-building
activities, with the objective of facilitating mutual camaraderie among participants and
establishing a foundation for open expression in subsequent activities. While divided into national groups, we represented our respective cultures by performing tales and myths from our countries. Subsequently, we were introduced to the hero’s journey protocol and tasked with identifyingits elements within our stories.
Furthermore, we acquired proficiency in the technique of Forum Theatre, designed to
facilitate constructive dialogues among young individuals, thereby fostering the emergence of innovative and collaborative approaches to addressing issues pertaining to racism and discrimination, themes we chose to highlight. Within the same framework, we were convened into groups to compose a narrative inspired by the experiences and cultural backgrounds of each participant, thereby enhancing our creativity and exploring strategies for the integration of diverse cultural elements into the realmof creative writing.
During our leisure time we went to excursions and we engaged in hiking expeditions amidst
the mountains of Morfasso, interacting with locals, getting in touch with nature, rejuvenating our spirits, and alleviating stress. Moreover, we improved our digital and presentational skills by learning a new tool, namely podcast, which was unfamiliarto themajority of us.
This aspect stood out as one of the project’s highlights, given its educational value in fostering productive collaborationamongparticipants.
Lastly, each participating country was afforded the opportunity to showcaseadistinctaspect of its culture ina unique manner during the intercultural nights,
encompassing elements such as cuisine, dance, music, and traditional games. This cultural exchange evoked sentiments of joy, anticipation, and curiosity regarding the perspectives of others. In conclusion,this experience was a great opportunity to obtain non-formal education methods on various topics, while also interacting and getting to know people from other countries. We’re talking about nine days filled with excitement, happiness, fun,
knowledge and multiculturalism. Therefore, we encourage young Europeans to really consider participating in Erasmus+ projects, because it’s an unforgettable experience and it offers countless advantages for the participants.
Participants’ Reports
“Intercultural Actors” YE
6- 15 May 2024
Italy, Morfasso
“Inter-cultural actors” a small review on my Erasmus+ experience. Between May 6th and 15th, I participated in the youth exchange “Intercultural Actors” in a small village in Italy, Morfasso.
Having returned home, I can confidently say it was one of the most interesting projects I have ever been a part of.
The facilitators were exceptional, with an incredible sense of humor that made us feel comfortable and at ease from day one. The location, being in the middle of nowhere, helped us strengthen our bonds with the other participants.
Through the amazing activities, we cultivated our artistic skills, exchanged perspectives, deeply understood the cultures of other countries, got in contact with nature, delved into Italy’s lifestyle and used art as a means to recognize and appreciate the other cultures and the principles of EU.(And as an extra bonus: perhaps the most delicious food I have ever had in a project.)
Overall, it was a transformative journey, and I’ll forever be grateful to PRAXIS for selecting me and to the two facilitators who accompanied us on this wonderful experience that I will always cherish.
Eleni Palatsioni
During the 6 of May until 15 ,24 people from 5 different countries met in Morfasso Italy for
an Erasmus+ project about Intercultural actors. The main goal of the project was to promote EU values through sharing our cultures and doing activities such as theatre and podcast.
Throughout the project we shared our ideas on how to do that, identified the problems we
are facing and how we can overcome them in order to move forward.
We learned about other cultures, made new friends, learned useful new things and how to
not judge people who come from countries that our governments have problems with each
other.
The project was a success and taught us so many things. This experience was amazing so I
want to thank everyone for making this journey so wonderful.
The amazing people we met, the facilitators and above all Praxis who made this opportunity possible for me.
Christos Stogiannis
My experience in Morfasso, Italy is one that I will never forget. I’m so grateful that I got to
meet all these amazing people and share all these moments with them. With them I got to
learn a lot of things about all of our cultures and creative ways to share them.
This project was well organized and the facilitators gave all of their passion and love to make us feel safe and welcome.
Elissavet Kaplani
Greetings! My name is Vaggelis and I am going to share with you my impeccable experience
which took part in Morfasso in Italy on the dates of 6-15 of May collaborating with 23
participants from 5 different countries.
To Begin with, we stayed on a cosy venue with all the amenities included. The view was
extraordinary and I was really blessed being in a beautiful place like that.
We hiked on scenic paths, laughed with our hearts, met local people, participated in local
events and learned how to do a podcast, which I personally found really interesting for
future use. On our free day we visited castel arquato and we collected cheerful memories.
The food that we got provided was absolutely delicious.
Furthermore, the project was well constructed and professionally facilitated, emphasising
the non verbal communication which is imperative in our routine. After this project I
consider myself a more grounded person who is not afraid to face challenges overcoming
social and language barriers. I would really recommend people to actively participate in
projects like those in order to improve themselves even more.
To conclude, I want to wholeheartedly thank the organisation PRAXIS for this incredible
opportunity and for their helpful support they provided.
Vaggelos Koloniaris
From 6th to 15th of May i had the opportunity to participate in an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange
project, titled “Inter-cultural actors” , in Morfasso, Italy.
This project’s topic was promoting diversity and interculturalism mainly through activities,
sessions and workshops. The facilitators did a fantastic job by providing us non-formal
education, helping us with learning new tools, bringing us closer and making us feel
comfortable, welcome and safe in the group.
Apart from that, we also organized cultural nights for each country, where participants had
the opportunity to present a small piece of their countries’ identities.
Therefore we got the chance to get to know the culture, the language, the customs and the history of all the participating countries, which made us feel more connected and interested in each other’s personalities.
Furthermore, the facilitators educated us in creating and using a podcast and the necessary tools that were needed for its creation.
In general, i would say that this was a very unique and unforgettable experience, because i
was able to educate myself, expand my horizons and – most importantly – make new
friendships that will last for a long time.
Erasmus+ is a way to build bridges between countries and cultures by creating long lasting
friendships, experiences and warm memories.
I will forever be thankful for this opportunity!
Konstantinos Haratsidis
