Activities Handbook for Global Citizenship Education and Theatre ("Performing their Story" Project)

Aims of the tool

This Handbook describes the rationale of the project, the results achieved, the key elements of the structure and learning design of the project and the non-formal activities used in the 5 days of the project. Anyone looking for:
A) non-formal activities related to Theatre, Storytelling and Global Citizenship Education
B) information regarding the learning design of a project,

may find new ideas in this Handbook.

Description of the tool

"Performing their Story" was a short-term project implemented in Cyprus in May-June 2019 (total of 5 days). The project engaged Cypriot and non-Cypriot participants aged 18-35 with the aim of providing them the space to discover each other's realities, develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes and have an intercultural, creative experience, which culminated in a public street performance. This project brought together young people from developing countries and young persons from Cyprus, which wouldn´t otherwise have the opportunity to meet and interact.

The project was based on methods of real-time Storytelling, Theatre for Social Change, Experiential Learning and Global Citizenship Education. In addition, the project was based on four key concepts which are crucial for personal, societal and global sustainable development:

1) The Performing Arts: Highly creative and transformative, performance and storytelling can be used as a means of raising awareness for local and global issues, promoting cultural expression, identity representation, innovation, social development and inclusion.

2) Dialogue for Development: Poverty reduction and sustainable development cannot be achieved if dialogues are not initiated for what “poverty”, “development”, “quality of life”, “opportunity”, and “growth” mean to those involved in the conversation. In the context of Global Citizenship Education, the dialogue should include persons with lived experience of both the developed and the developing world.

3) Peaceful Co-existence: Peaceful co-existence cannot happen between humans if they are not peaceful within themselves. Inner peace is achieved with self-awareness and self-care. Interpersonal peace is fortified when people come together in a positive climate, through a dynamic and participatory process that encourages mutual sharing and cooperation in order to create something meaningful for themselves and the general public.

4) Care for the Environment: The destruction of the environment is not limited to the developing world. However, the quality of life of people living in deprivation in developing countries is lower than in developed countries. The responsible preservation and improvement of the human environment, through awareness and informed decisions, leads to a higher well-being of people no matter where they live.

The project was funded by the European Commission and the Bridge 47 project. Bridge 47 - Building Global Citizenship (www.bridge47.org) is a project co-created and implemented by 15 European and global civil society organizations. It mobilizes and empowers global civil society to contribute to a transformation towards global justice and eradication of poverty through Global Citizenship Education (and in particular target 4.7. of the Sustainable Development Goals).