Description
The project proposes the creation of cultural spaces and an inter -regional social networks to promote intercultural dialogue and multicultural Romania. The main goal is to overcome communication obstacles and explore in order to understand and compare endorsed, complex realities of life in the partner regions. Over the course of 12 months, the promoter and Concordia Oslo Association, the Norwegian partner, will organize a cultural caravan held in the high schools selected, supporting the theatre-forum play and multicultural traditions fair in which 28 students from Bucharest , selected on the basis of an application form for the project will be trained to stage a forum theatre play, that they will conceive and that will address cultural, historical minorities and respect for equal opportunities to culture. The Forum theatre play will take place in 10 schools, eight form Romania and two from Norway. To enhance the cultural experience, we will organize in each of the ten locations a fair of Romanian traditions and customs of the national minorities that will last one day. Thus, the 28 participants will also attend pottery and history of minorities classes so that, in turn, can support 10-15 minute presentations during the fair that will take place in schools. The project is unlocking dialogue with culture by developing complementary extracurricular activities that allow students to be acquainted with the performing arts and customs and traditions of minorities and overcome barriers of communication in order to understand and compare the complex realities of life in eight national regions and two locations in Oslo, Norway. Concordia Oslo Association aims through various cultural initiatives and projects to promote unity, harmony, understanding and social and economic integration. Through culture, Concordia Oslo’s members wish to achieve strong links between people and benefits of culture.
Summary of project results
The project “Theatre Dialog Box" started as a response to the desire to improve access to culture and to increase cultural consumption among youngsters and to promote traditions, intercultural values and equality. The biggest problem that we have identified concerns the limits of the school curricula in facilitating the dialogue between students and the Romanian culture or cultures of other societies. The proposed solution by the project is unlocking this dialogue by developing complementary extracurricular activities that allow students to make contact with the performing arts and customs and traditions of minorities and overcome boundaries of communication in order to understand and compare the complex life realities of 8 national regions in Romania and 2 high schools in Oslo, Norway. The main deliverables produced within the project were: 11 types of Posters – 1200 copies, 10 Postcards – 4000 copies, 1 Bookmark – 5000 copies, 1 bilingual website (
www.teatru.ospv.ro), 1 Facebook page (
https://www.facebook.com/theatredialogbox ), 1 traditional ceramic broach – 5000 pieces. The project started the activities with 28 children. On the way it was realized that many of them have never been participated in a theatre audience. There were some of them who could be considered social cases, that they come for broken families or they were in danger to drop out the school. Not only they wrote a theatre play, but they also had the opportunity to attend performances at the Comic Opera for Children which offered them the opportunity to enter backstage and talk to the actors, the directors and the technicians. The children that were no longer attending the school classes understood why it is important to learn and to pursue a career. The students even became cultural trainers, that started their own drama team in their high school. The project gave them a voice that they needed. It was developed the intercultural dialogue between students from 13 high schools and among the public opinion in Romania and Norway through the website (
www.teatru.ospv.ro). The access to culture and Romanian traditions was increased by 28 high school students who have played a theatre play and who organizing a pottery workshop for over 1500 Romanian and Norwegian children.
Summary of bilateral results
The promoter and the project partner have worked together on all aspects of the project. PP developed the bilateral relations by signing two partnerships with 2 high schools in Oslo, Kuben Vgs and Edvard Munch Vgs through the dpp, Concordia Oslo. Partner's representative is a Romanian established for more than 15 years in Norway. In the Romanian artistic environment he is known as a good guitarist and music specialist. In Norway, he is a teacher of guitar and so our efforts to Oslo educational institutions have been easily facilitated.