EU-prosjekt: Teen Ambassadors Across Europe

EU-project: Teen Ambassadors Across Europe

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Teen Ambassadors Across Europe is a cooperation project that aims to develop a sustainable and scalable inclusive audience engagement methodology trough a co-curatorial approach to programme theatre for the young audience, through the setting of a new methodology that will create a concrete and active relationship between Artistic Directors and teen spectators, who will be involved in a team with curators and take a decisive role in the artistic management of theatre festivals and theatre seasons.

Led by Segna d’Infanzia in Italy, and with partners Teatercentrum in Denmark, Krokusfestival in Belgium, Fundació Bancària “la Caixa” in Spain and Dialogue – The Community Performance Network from Great Britain we will work directly with the young audience.

They are called “TEEN Ambassadors” because their active involvement in the theatre experience makes them spread the practice to their peers resulting in a better audience engagement – often succeeding in this goal where adults in influencer’s position (such as teachers, parents, artistic directors) have failed.

Their role in this project will also be the one of real “Ambassadors”, because they will be responsible of representing their peers in the discussion with the Artistic Directors about what they want to see on stage during the co-curatorial approach.

Thanks to this participative process and the presence of the Teen Ambassadors, the project will enable culture professionals to set up more inclusive European theatre and cultural proposals; in order to do so, new strategy and tools developed in the former T.E.E.N. Project will be used and spread in other countries.

A reflection about the school system and the role it has on guiding teens’ cultural experience will also be facilitated, including this aspect in the co-curatorial approach. The complexity and diversity of the school system will be faced thanks to the cooperation with one of the partners with high level of experience in cultural and theatre programs for teachers and schools.

Focusing on enhancing their experience as active spectators thanks to the development of a critique approach, the project will include teens in a process that:

  • collects them in TAG (Theatre Action Group) in every country, together with Artistic Directors, a coordinator /tutor and Teachers;
  • promotes discussion between the TAG participants about shows and performance seen and to be see, using the Kitchen Table format and the critical approach tool tested in T.E.E.N. project;
  • makes them work alongside with Artistic Directors to understand how a festival or theatre season is programmed and how can their opinions and desires be taken in consideration, without compromising the quality level;
  • includes them in the communication process about this shows, to better understand how they use social media and how their presence and suggestions can positively influence their peers;
  • promotes a reflection in the school system about how to compromise educational needs and teen’s emotional approach to theatre.

The establishment of the co-curatorial approach is expected to enable culture professionals to better reach more and more teenagers across Europe (younger audience from different cultures and social backgrounds, aged 10 to 19), to ensure a long-term engagement and social inclusion thanks to a peer-to-peer approach and a qualified theatre offers inside the school system.

Reed more here.