Our story

Creative Europe Project

Field of the project

T.O.U.C.H. project is focused on innovation in the field of audience development and social inclusion through culture and art.

Objectives:

– Creation of a showcase for the use of a theatre outreach model in including vulnerable groups in active art creation and as a connecting means with different audience groups;

– Rising the capacity of the creative sector to include people from different vulnerable groups as active subjects in the creative industries;

– Fostering the collaboration between culture, education, social welfare and the youth sector.

Kick-off meeting:

Short project description

The show-case consists of creation of an international inclusive co-production based on a theatre outreach approach, with using applied theatre as its main methodology for involvement and empowerment of three target groups (youth without parental care, people with disability and unemployed youth) and engagement of audiences. The inclusive creative troupe will have 3 international tours, each time performing for 2 audiences – their own group and general public. The tours are followed with local performances in schools, thus using interactive theatre methods not only to foster audience development, but to support the integration processes of target groups in their local communities.

The show-case is documented through a comprehensive publication, involving recommendations for artists for successful engagement of people from vulnerable groups in their participatory art projects. In addition, 3 short movies follow the show-case and focus on the effects on participants and audience members. Second part of the project involves a series of dissemination activities, with organization of and participation in national and international cultural and inter-sectoral events, meetings and publications and videos dissemination, in order to motivate culture and creative sector to focus on this topic and to empower the trust in the contact between sectors through a good practice example.

ABOUT US:

CEPORA – Center for Positive Youth Development

CEPORA – Center for Positive Youth Development is an CSO from Belgrade, Serbia, focusing over a decade on empowering social and emotional development of children and youth through implementing variety of programs based on contemporary prevention science knowledge and using applied theatre and applied drama in their work. CEPORA uses participatory art forms in working on the field (using outreach approaches) with children and youth without parental care, as well as other at-risk youth groups, but also working with youth from typical settings.

Associazione Uniamoci Onlus

Associazione Uniamoci Onlus is a nonprofit organisation, established in 2008 in Palermo (Italy), to work with people with disabilities (aged 18 – 40) in order to foster their inclusion in the society through skills development, inclusive volunteering, raising social awareness activities, creation of educational methodologies and tools, international cooperation. The main elements of its working strategy are empowerment, accessibility (in terms of language, facilitation methodology and physical environment) and diversity (in terms of cultural background, age, abilities, sexual orientation, professional profile, concerns with justice).

Empiria Teatar

Designation

Empiria theater is a newly founded organization, which, since the beginning of its activities in 2021, has been oriented towards interdisciplinary, intermediate, hybrid, mostly performance projects of a socially engaged approach, as well as educational, inclusive and interactive contents, panels, workshops and meetings aimed at encouraging dialogue about the function of art in sensitizing and developing a new (young) audience, questioning socially sensitive issues, positioning marginalized groups in the social and cultural space, and engaging participants in non-artistic professions as active co-creators in the artistic and/or research process