„We are Europe’s children!” is an interdisciplinary educational project, which fundamentally employs artistic methods and educational approaches. Considering the term „education” from an isolated perspective one discovers various definitions.

The project „We are Europe’s children!” follows this modern approach. Its goal is to address and encourage the mind, imagination and sensual perception of the youngsters. The significant project elements –sociocultural diversity and art – serve this purpose. 

The first phase of the project addresses children aged 8-12 years and the second phase addresses children between 12 and 15 years. The age classifications allow the use of age-specific offers and methods. For children and youngsters the program provides learning opportunities through playing and creative activities, free of any kind of grading. Also it takes place during the summer holidays, which is a time away from school pressures children are usually exposed to.

The sociocultural aspect of the project is simultaneously its most important element. Alongside participants from Germany and Poland there will also be participants from other parts of Europe. Thereby partnerships with institutions from countries that are either new members of the European Union or aspire to the membership in the future are an important focus. This is because these institutions are less likely to have much experience in the area of informal education in the international context. Promoting European values in this framework appears particularly favourable. The encounter with other cultures, languages and perceptions enables children to alternate perspectives by spending time together and communicating with each other. This can counteract stereotypes and prejudice, and encourages the development of an open and tolerant perspective on life.

It is not solely the national origins of the participants that contribute to the diversity of this project. Yet another very important aspect is the inte­gration of children and youngsters from diverse social backgrounds. Hence partners of the project are also orphanages next to cultural institutions and schools, inter alia schools with artistic profiles.This mix of socio-cultural differences coexistent with similarities such as personal interests and hobbies allows participants to learn from each other, while also providing an opportunity to reflect on this accordingly.

The project „We are Europe’s children!” invites to a nine-day stay in the International Youth Meeting Centre in Krzyżowa. The program involves many activities such as games, sports, language activities, excursions and other shared leisure activities. Alongside those, there are art workshops that take centre stage including manual art, ceramics, theatre and dance. Based on a rotating system, all children and youngsters participate in every single workshop at one stage or another. At the same time, participants are divided into sub-groups that are nationally mixed. Although national diversity may sometimes create language barriers, it rarely is an obstacle to making contact and integration. Communication amongst participants is supported by both the art workshops themselves as well as the English language, which often provides an alternative means of communication whereby it is often observed to evoke a subconscious learning process of the language itself. Through joint artistic activities participants are being introduced to new forms of expression and communication, which can be practiced and hence promote social abilities.

As the project title implies, the summer project deals with European issues. What is Europe? What kind of opportunities does it provide and what does it mean to actively participate in its formation? These are questions that will be dealt with in an age-based manner. The particular subjects thereby will be based on assignments of the respective European year. Whilst those subjects will be prepared in single workshop units, the reflection takes place during the actual artistic workshops themselves. All workshops are led and supervised by experienced artists and pedagogues, who accompany the initiated learning process and provide support in the emotional processing of the work of the sub-groups.

Following workshops are offered during the project:

Art Workshop
Director: Marek Stanielewicz, Lecturer in graphic design at the Akademie of Arts in Wrocław and fashion designer. He is author of various art workshops for art students, youth and children since 1996. 

Theatre

Director: Beata Fertała – Harlender, Painter, scenographer, lecturer in the departments of drawing,
painting and scenography at the University of Humanities in Wrocław. She is the author of annual theater workshops and happenings in Krzyżowa since 2005.

Ceramics

Director: Małgorzata Somerfeld - Lasko
Artist. Postgraduate studies of art therapy. Possesses an own ceramics workshop. She is author of annual ceramics workshops for youngsters and disabled people in Krzyżowa. 

Dance Workshop
Director: Jakub Gontarski

Performer, dancer (contact improvisation, contemporary dance, theatre). Capoeira course instructor. First grade in accompanying Kinesiology. Capoeira workshop instructor and author of annual dance
workshops in Krzyżowa since 2008.

Each project winds up with a major final presentation that depicts the conclusions oft he workshops, in which the children and youngsters proudly present their works of art.

Kontakt and information
Elżbieta Kosek
fax 0048 74 85 00 305
mail: dziecieuropy@krzyzowa.org.pl