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European Youth Forum in Berlin, Germany "Close Encounters of the Street Kind" August 9 - 15, 2010
"Close Encounters of the Street Kind!" was the topic of PTPI’s fourth European Youth Forum in Berlin, Germany. The event was a true intercultural experience. During the first three days, participants got to know each other, learned more about one another’s countries and cultures and enhanced their intercultural skills in various interactive workshops. They also explored Berlin in the course of an interactive city rally. The city rally encouraged participants to make "people-to-people contacts" in Berlin. Those intercultural encounters served as a source of inspiration for the development of short theater scenes, which were assembled and transformed into a unique street theater action during the last three days of the program. At the forum's international Market of Possibilities, each group presented its country at a stand and in the course of a performance. The stands displayed materials, posters, typical music, food, clothing and handicrafts from the five different countries. Participants especially enjoyed teaching one another dances and songs from their regions after their respective performances. The street theater action was developed with the help of the director and theater pedagogue Martina Brückner from the association KREATIVHAUS. Inspired by three days full of curious experiences and intense exchanges, participants improvised in small groups and created scenes that represented their intercultural encounters. The scenes demonstrated well the misunderstandings, wonders and insights of international exchange. Characters and elements of those scenes were improved and integrated into a street theater performance. The performance was presented on the afternoon of Saturday, August 14, first at Wilmersdorfer Straße, then at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. The actors proved they are masters in generating "Close Encounters of the Street Kind." Congratulations to this truly international team who puzzled and entertained more than 200 Berliners and tourists during four performances! People to People International aims to foster international understanding through direct people-to-people contacts. PTPI’s European Youth Forum gave participants an opportunity to form lasting friendships with peers from different countries and to enhance their intercultural skills in various interactive workshops. They also developed a street theater performance and presented it in Berlin.
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The European Youth Forum brought together 25 students (ages 15-17) and their five group leaders from five different European countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Republic of Macedonia, Romania and Ukraine. National Groups at the Market of Possibilities:
International Groups for the Berlin Quest:
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Each group was accompanied by a leader. Here they are:
Report from PTPI's Sofia, Bulgaria Student ChapterOn a hot morning, we arrived at Berlin Tegel Airport. We were tired and longing for sleep because of the long and boring flight and at the same time excited and a little scared of the coming week. What are we going to do? We knew nothing but the fact that we had to find a man called Lars, holding a logo of PTPI. And that was the first and the last moment of uncertainty and boredom… The moment we met the other participants the laughing started. We were talking about and discussing everything. The hostel, where we stayed, became a funny and noisy place that never slept. We were full of energy all the time, spreading good mood and smiling. Some of the mornings started a little too early, but the energizing games woke us up immediately. Apart from all the fun we had, Verena, Lars, Martina and Dace did a great job and we learned a lot. Some presentations were so catchy and thoughtful that we decided to present them to all Bulgarian PTPI members. Every activity that we had proved that the easiest way to have peace is through understanding between people. Street theater is something we will never forget. Acting on the street in front of so many strangers passing by is funny and also showed people that kids of our age can all together create something like that, no matter where they are from or which mother tongue they speak. We finished our journey sleeping on the plane again, but full of memories that we will never forget. And we hope we will meet our new friends somewhere, somehow again. Thomas Dimitrov Our PTPI Experience!When we first started the trip to Berlin from our home town, we couldn’t imagine that the week we were going to experience through PTPI would be the one we would never ever forget. We never thought that during this week we would make lifelong friendships, learn so much about the countries surrounding us and their culture, and that we would have such an excellent time while taking part in a street theater play. Through a remarkably formed program we explored the busy roads of beautiful Berlin, and we discovered many of its hidden miracles. For the Berlin Quest, we had to get pictures with strangers, make passersby laugh out loud, and take creative photographs in Berlin’s hotspots. But this was just the beginning of our street theater adventure. With the Berlin Quest highlights for ammunition, each team had to create and present a play that would depict a funny or shocking scene of the quest! The result was amazing and each performance contributed to the formation of our final play, the one that we presented in the street in front of an audience and that instantly drew everyone’s attention! The street theater performance was an excellent and unforgettable experience. But it was not the only element that made the whole PTPI experience so special. The goal of the forum was to achieve peace through cultural understanding among young people from different countries of the Balkan Peninsula. With the street theater performance as an incentive, we were able not only to get to know people from other countries, but also to explore the different aspects of each culture and to discover the similarities between us. The language classes and the games involving cultural characteristics enhanced our knowledge and lit the fire to the mutual will to learn more and to give more. One of our favorite parts of the forum was the Market of Possibilities where each group had to present its country in different interactive ways, involving a traditional dance or a song or bringing leaflets and traditional food from the home country. Everybody loved that evening, yet there was more to the forum that made it even greater. The presentations made by the organizing team concerning prejudice, discrimination and stereotypes made it easier for us to fully understand the reason we were all brought together and what we had to achieve during the time we spent there. All of these, and of course the spectacular theater experience, made us realize that the only way to peace and understanding is to bring people together and bind them with the common cause of changing the world by accepting differences and embracing similarities, by discussing the problems and reaching a consensus, by gaining a different view of the world while exchanging ideas, and most of all by offering a brilliant PTPI experience that includes everything. Thank you, PTPI, for giving us a taste of such an experience and for offering us the chance to change! Despina Dimitrakopoulou, George Schinas, Efi Goula, John Goulas and John Domouhtsis from Thessaloniki, Greece Experience of a LifetimeI’ll start by saying hello to all of you reading this. My name is Monika and I’d like to share my experience of a lifetime in Berlin with you. First of all I’d like to say a big thank you to my group leader, Stevica, who told me about this awesome project. Then to Lars, Verena, Martina, Dace and all the people who were responsible for this to happen. I had the time of my life with this PTPI project. It was amazing, different and unique: discovering different cultures, various languages, and an unknown city, making new friends and having a lot of fun. Before coming to Berlin I wasn’t excited, but when I got there and met everyone I thought "Well, this will be interesting." And it was much more than just interesting. Time flew by way too quickly. The first days were okay with some presentations and activities, which were relaxing and fun, but the real thing started when we had to come up with scenes for our performance, which by the way was excellent. We rehearsed with Martina every day. In the play, I had a perfect role, a crazy mom who is always yelling and screaming. I loved being her. It was very funny. I also sang my favorite song and that was my dream come true. When I performed in front of all those people, I felt like a rock star. I really felt that energy and became more self-confident. PS: Sofia, Thessaloniki, Roman, Bucharest, Kiev, Berlin … I LOVE YOU. I MISS YOU. Monika Ilkova from Skopje, Republic of Macedonia Report from PTPI's Roman, Romania ChapterI want to start by saying how happy I am that I got the chance to participate in the EYF 2010. I think that Lars and Verena did a great job with the program. We were busy all the time; yet what was the EYF all about? It was about getting to know one another's countries, customs and traditions, but more importantly it was about us. We were supposed to learn, to speak, to put something good together and at last, to have fun doing that. And we did. I bet we all did because it was a really great and amazing experience. I never thought I would become so close with the other participants because we are different in many ways. I think that the most popular activities were the Berlin Quest, the Market of Possibilities and the Intercultural Party. The main aim of the EYF 2010 was to develop and perform a street theater action in Berlin, and we accomplished it! We were awesome there on the street! It was a first for many of us and an extraordinary experience. All the people were watching us, and they were enjoying those moments. The play was very good and so was the dance. I still remember the choreography. I have the impression that all came to an end so quickly. We all still keep in touch, talk almost every day and some of us have already planned to go and visit one another next summer. We want to thank PTPI for teaching us lots of things and for giving us the chance to be different. We also want to thank you ever so much for everything, Lars, Verena and Dace! And last but not least, we are grateful to Sorina Danciu, our leader, who is always available for us, always helping, always trying to do her best. Thank you all for the brightest experience we have had so far! We are looking forward to seeing or hearing from you all! Andra Calin
Click here to download the program.
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