European Bandcamp - connect through music!

Note: PLEASE!!! Do not reply on our call just for replying!!! Just do this if your are really involved in rock- and pop music or subcultural things. We are looking for specialized partners. The ideal partner will have an own stage in his club or center. It is not enough if you have someone somewhere in your network.

---THE IDEA---
Music is an important part of the cultural identity. People always use songs to express their understanding of the world. Music escorts us through our everyday life. Music sometimes keeps us going on. Music heals our wounds and raises our dreams. And it takes no matter, from where you are. Music is a language itself, that does not have to be translated. No matter if you understand the words, you can be connected to other people through music.
If you start to make music, there is a point where you realize: The more you learn about music, the bigger the cosmos behind music is getting. It's a never ending story, where you have to decide what's the way your are taking. And there is one point in music that can really bring people together. Diversity is a gift to music that makes it more rich and interesting. So differences between people, their experiences, their beliefs, their cultural backgrounds become resources. We want to bring people together to make music.

---TARGET GROUP AND OBJECTIVES---
The main group for this youth exchange will be at the age of around 16 years. The participants should be used to play their instruments within a band. The musical interests should be placed somewhere between rock- and popmusic.
The main idea of the exchange is to make music together. There for the participants should be able to improvise on their instruments or willing to learn. It would be good if the youngsters can play different instruments providing a musical diversity.
Our aim for the end of the exchange is that the participants can play several songs together in different constellations. The ideal objective is that we write and perform songs together with the whole group. This will be the soundtrack of the exchange. Depending on the interests of the attendees we can imagine several options as a result of the exchanges:
• a concert event with all bands – so we will have a small tour throught europe – 4 or 5 concert in every partners town
• a music videos of the songs
• minimum: a record of the song (including mixing and mastering by the paritcipants)

---WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR---
The project needs partner organisations who are as enthusiastic about music as we are and who can provide professional expertise on teaching music. We are looking for partners that are able to provide technical equipment and instruments for the exchange. You should also have experience in working with music and providing space for musical events.
The partner should be able to bring another group of 10 youngsters into the project.
We are looking for 3-5 reliable projectpartners from EU countries.

---HOW WE WILL WORK---
In our work with the youngsters we focus on their interests. It is very important to us, that they can take control of the way of learning and working. This means:
• The participants are involved in planning the program of the exchange.
• They decide what songs to play. We help them to overcome their own challenges.
• While the exchange is running, we aim to get feedback of the youngsters every day.
• On the stage of the organizers (the team) every evening we discuss the results of the day and how to improve on the next day.
• We solve conflicts in the team within the team. We do not involve the participants in that.

---TIMETABLE---
The deadline for the application of the ERASMUS+ program is the 26th of April 2018. Therefor we need from your organisation in the next steps:
• your PIF
• some time to talk about and discuss the program
• partner mandate for our final application

The ideal time for the exchange are the holidays of the youngsters. The difficulty is to bring the times of all partners together. So the holidays in Saxony are placed on the following dates:

8th – 19th october 2018 - Visiting Partner 1 (1 Week)
18th febuary – 1st march 2019 - Visiting Leipzig (1 Week)
8th july – 16th august 2019 - Visiting Partner 2 (1 Week)
14th – 25th october 2019 - Visiting Partner 3 (1 Week)

We plan to visit every partner for one week. On the last evening there should be placed a concert with all the participants.

---OUR ORGANIZATION---
The socio-cultural centre “Die VILLA” is a modern youth, cultural and social institution close to the centre of Leipzig. With over 100 events and courses each week, it offers a wide range of activities for every age group (from early music training with toddlers to back schooling for senior citizens) in a variety of genres (from choirs to youth theatre groups).
The centre has five differently equipped event rooms, a media area, a self-help bicycle-repair centre, a café , two band practice rooms and a sound lab, a shared apartment for young people engaged in voluntary service, an open youthclub for children and youth, as well as the offices of various associations and initiatives.

The non-profit VILLA gGmbH coordinates the use of facilities and is responsible for some of the activities. In addition to the associations and initiatives having offices at “Die VILLA,” still more make use of the event rooms on a regular basis.
The social and cultural centre “Die VILLA” focuses on the following task areas:
• youth work and spare time activities
• cultural education and youth events (like concerts, parties, discotheques, theatres)
• activities in the school holidays
• media projects (especially with video, photograph, computer animation and internet)
• German and European youth volunteer service
• international and intercultural projects

In the department of “Cultural Education and Youth Events” we are working together with several young bands. Normally we found bands in school and work with them for several years. So we are in contact with youngsters between the age of 13 and 20 years. We work together with pupils of grammar schools but also with youngsters that are not that highly educated. We are even used to work together with schools for handicapped pupils.

In the east of the city we provide another space for the idea of music connecting people with the name “Müzik.Stüdyo.74”. Since 2013 we organize bandcoachings for several bands and a monthly jam session for people with different cultural background in this place.

---OUR RESOURCES---
We have several rooms for rehearsal. The guests do not have to bring their instruments. We can serve with drumsets, electric and classic guitars, bass-guitars, stagepianos, workstations and synthesizers.
We have an eventroom with a fully equipped stage with space for an audience of about 120 people.
In our house we can also use equipment of the media workshop (for filming) or the sound lab ( 2 Workstations with Ableton Live / Videocutting with DaVinci Resolve / Soldering Stations and more).
Accomodation is planned on the level of a hostel. So we don't provide luxury, just fun.