Circus in public space: the Cabuwazi experience

Editorial Staff — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 11:18:24 +0000

The method of doing interactive circus activities in public space refers to the idea of a playful interaction and inspiring space transformation on the ground of an invitation to the Circus world. This is exactly the goal of Cabuwazi, that offers to kids and youngsters the possibility to get in touch with such a reality for more that 20 years .

The background

Since its beginning, circus has been an experience whereby the public space has been used as a context to invite people to witness and/or interact with a creative experience. The circus coming to town has always been a special occasion, where the community comes together to see the circus art as an inspiration to grow and feel the energy of a shared social experience. In the words of Ernest Hemingway, “the circus is an ‘ageless delight. Young or old, rich or poor, east or west, north or south, Circus reaches all of us.”

The context

Circus in public spaces can be adapted for various environments: parks, metros, squares, backyards, etc. The interactive character of the action in public space is important, so we don’t limit ourselves to a performance in public space, but actively involve the public in the activities. People experience a creative environment that invites them to also be artists. They can join in a playful dialogue of artistic creation and can learn concrete circus techniques, which give them the possibility to express themselves in a new way.

The flow

In all of the various contexts, we have a very similar flow:

Preparation of the “magical” environment: with music, decoration, bubbles, a visual identity (costumes, face painting), a way of movement and communication of the hosting activists all help to create a magical atmosphere. The public entering this environment feels that the usual public setting has been transformed into something extraordinary. This wakes up the curiosity and openness to explore further – it stimulates our inner child’s wish to play together.
Invitation to join the playful circus creation: the public is invited to try out different circus technics: they get access to the learning dimension, get personal guidance from the activists and the feeling of gratitude and specialness to be able to step inside this circus world.
Integration of the public in the group of performers can be supported by changing the appearance of the people (body painting, giving costume pieces) who have joined the action, so they feel integrated as part of the circus group hosting and can feel empowered to share their new-born passion with others.
Celebration of the common creation brings the feeling of belonging to a shared creative flow of an authentic emotional uplift, thereby through the connection with the circus activists, the public becomes part of a community, exchanging in the expressive language of the circus. This impact can be a huge inspiration to recognize a common cultural ground, where we share an identity and language far beyond any borders.
Continuation is an important aspect to allow the public that has joined to be part of the ongoing circus family we are creating together. It can be a flyer for the open training, a contact to make the next action together or an invitation to meet for a reflection of the experience afterwards.

Circus is more than a place; it is a state of mind, a round one, where we all meet on an equal ground. It doesn’t matter what language you speak, how much you earn, if you are old or young – meeting in the circus reality offers an invitation to explore together the freedom of a playful creation in a community. In this experimental metaphor of life as such, through circus we can feel, recognise and share it together.

Find out more about Cabuwazi social Circus on the following links:

https://evscabuwazi.tumblr.com/

https://occupylearning.org/

www.facebook.com/cabuwazi/

L'articolo Circus in public space: the Cabuwazi experience proviene da Youth Networks.

CoMedY: Community Mediation as a tool

Editorial Staff — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 09:11:54 +0000

The whole project of CoMedY (Community Mediation for Youth) was a tool itself. The main goal was in fact harnessing the mediation whenever a conflict could arise, which can be put in place either on local community basis and in the field of international youth mobility work.

That became clear after the conclusion of the project. It took two years (from March 2016 to February 2018) and many experiences into working, educational and family contexts, it came out that using methods of community mediation really help in solving critical situations. Besides, what has to be reminded is that Community Mediation is first of all a way of life than merely a method.

The participants started their work from the analysis of the needs and the necessities of the communities they went to visit. Then, after building a strong connection and acquiring a direct knowledge of the surrounding context, they set their goals and objectives.

A complete toolkit is available on the CoMedY website. Here below the working methods.

Development of local projects:

“The participants could be roughly divided into two groups: youth workers and coordinators of the partner organizations, and young volunteers. The first explored the Community Mediation methodology and tried to understand how to apply it in the different local contexts, both during the Training Courses and through study visits in Latin America. Volunteers of the European Voluntary Service underwent a preliminary period of volunteering in their respective sending organizations and local communities. At the same time, they received baseline training on the Community Mediation approach in order to contribute to the implementation of a Community Mediation-inspired local project (…) The Portuguese representative went to Mexico, the Italian one to Argentina and the Spanish referent went to Peru.”

This way, it was possible for all the participants to acquire the right working method, adjusting it to the specific needs and necessities of the locals. That was crucial for the whole Community Mediation concept: to understand the social parts involved in the critical situation and to make them main actors of the decision making process is in fact the pivotal part of the mediation.

Training courses:

Then there was the involvement of stakeholders, plus two representatives for every participant organization. For the European, the training courses took part before the departure, in order to get familiar with the concept and the methods of Community Mediation and to be able to put them properly in place, being already familiar with the approach.

Final evaluation:

Eventually, the final evaluation represented a great tool to get an overall idea of the results of the project, the efficiency of the methods, the impact either on the participants and on the EVS volunteers that took place to the exchange and, in the end, to reflect upon what was left after the project had ended.

For a more specific description of the project and its tools, here you will find the complete toolkit, with a complete overview of the main notions and concepts for a correct approach to the Community Mediation.

L'articolo CoMedY: Community Mediation as a tool proviene da Youth Networks.

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