Back into the labour market with Romeo and Juliet

First transnational theatre training from JobAct Europe successfully started in Turin

02/13/2019

Participants at the international theatre training of the JobAct Europe project in Turin.

The first of four international theatre trainings by the project JobAct Europe took place from 01/02 – 05/02/2019 in Turin. In 4 days participants from Italy, France, Hungary and Germany were taught methods of social art for social inclusion practically and theoretically. Kerstin Guhlemann and Christine Best from the sfs attended these trainings for scientific support.

“Social inclusion through social art” – this is the concept with which the social workers, aspiring social artists, as well as already certified theatre pedagogues are prepared for their work with disadvantaged people and supported in their professional practice. The project JobAct Europe focuses on the empowerment of the participants through the combination of theatre training and job coaching. After almost two years of joint cross-national concept development, the different approaches could be combined in a joint training of the project partners, where the demonstration of the differences of the approaches also provided a fruitful learning opportunity. In a theory block in the morning a lively exchange took place on the methods of the partners used in practical work with disadvantaged groups, acquisition of donors, companies and individual approaches of their training. In small groups and under the direction of differing theatre pedagogues the contents were conveyed practically through two-hour theatre workshops. It was done country-specific with scenes from the play Romeo and Juliet.

As the practical work with the target groups, e.g. unemployed adolescents, refugees and NEETs, is the core of the project, the “Train the Trainers” events offer a meaningful opportunity to train the competences of the trainers. The international composition of the participants led to a discourse beyond national borders. In this dialogue, experiences and helpful skills for coping with critical situations in everyday work with the target groups were exchanged and concrete methods of theatre pedagogical practice were applied and imparted. All strategies presented, like approaches to problem solving, the development of an “Entrepreneurial Mindset” and Design Thinking were always consolidated in practical exercises too. Through their own experiences with the methods, the participants were able to assure the effectiveness of certain methods and learn to put themselves in the perspective of the participants in the theatre projects.

Hosting project partners were the Cooperativa Sociale Patchanka from Turin and Vivaio per l'Intrapredenzia from Florence.

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