Acting Out: difference and otherness in Europe

'Acting Out' was a project that used theatre, dialogue, film, and artistic collaboration to explore young people's understanding of difference and otherness. We hosted 10 Austrians 10 British 10 Portuguese and 15 Irish young people aged 17 to 25 plus two leadesr from each country. The project aimed to:
• explore issues of cultural, gendered, ethnic, social, political and sexual difference using creative methods of youth-work and group-work
• raise awareness of factors that have an impact on difference amongst young people in particular (such as popular culture, music, all types of media, peer groups, national culture and tradition, gender stereotyping, family, and school).
• suggest actions the young people could do that would promote tolerance and acceptance of difference in their communities
• showcase the work of youth theatre projects and young artists in Ireland, Austria, Portugal and UK. This work is themed around 'difference and otherness.'
• bring young people together with professional artists and youth workers to create collaborative presentations based on the themes explored during the project
• build on current relationships between the promoters and the young people to further integrate each group with their European peers.
The project occured in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, in the hall of the Patrician Secondary School and The Liffey Studio (our premisis). Workshops began on Saturday 21st June and concluded with a public creative presentation and a discussion forum on Saturday 28th June. Each group brought a prepared creative presentation which was staged during the week for the rest of the participants and for invited audience members who have an interest in European youth issues, or youth development. All of the presentations explored the theme of difference and otherness.
During the week, the 45 young people worked with leaders, facilitators and youth workers from Ireland, Britain, Portugal and Austria to raise awareness of perceptions and realities of difference in a culturally diverse Europe. There were also be visits and inputs from regional politicians with an involvement in Europe (Fiona O’ Loughlin, member of Kildare County Council, is Chairperson of the Committee of the Regions in the EU Commission); an advocates of women's rights (Dr Brid Connelly is a feminist author and lecturer in NUI Maynooth); GBLT rights (members of the local Sunrise LGBT group gave a presentation); and migrant rights (members of the Newbridge Community Development Group spoke about conditions in the Eyre Powell ‘holding centre’ in Newbridge).