2009 – OUT OF THE BASEMENT – SHAKE THE STREETS OF EUROPE. Transformation and Vision

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Posted in: Internationale Projekte

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International Youth Exchange “OUT OF THE BASEMENT – SHAKE THE STREETS OF EUROPE. Transformation and Vision” from June 19th to 29th, 2009 in Erfurt.

CULTURE GOES EUROPE (CGE) Erfurt e.V. has been inviting to the youth exchange from June 19th to 29th , 2009 in Erfurt and 30 juveniles from six European countries (Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Italy, Poland, and Portugal) in the age of 16 to 25 years have been coming.

The focus of the project, which has been supported by “JUGEND für Europa” – the German agency for the EU-programme YOUTH IN ACTION, was on the encountering character and the exchange about Europe. Under the guidance of an international team of dance pedagogues and artists hiphop and breakdance workshops took place at the KulturEtage Erfurt, furthermore there have been DJing-workshops with DJ Nas’d at the Zughafen (“Trainport”) and a graffiti workshop at the youth centre Petersberg.

Editing picture and film presentations on hiphop culture in the countries of the juvenile’s origins, an intercultural eve, and a movie eve on the topic completed the programme.

Besides the workshops the participants of the exchange also had the chance to explore Erfurt and its surroundings, as well as Weimar. They joined the Krämerbrückenfest (“grocer’s bridge”-festival), watched a presentation of the project De-light House from Erfurt at the Anger (“meadow”) and went to the exhibition “below the line. Streetart, urbane Kommunikation und Ästhetik” (street art, urban communication and aesthetics).

In the lively and versatile final presentation the juveniles demonstrated after all impressively the possibilities of feelings of success and understanding despite different previous knowledge of the domains of hiphop culture and hiphop dance, different languages and different expectations of the exchange. They swept away the audience with an imaginary travel across Europe, toyed with stereotypes, performed hiphop and breakdance, and just had a lot of fun!

The project has been realised in cooperation with:

and the international partner organisations:

BalkanKids Foundation (Bulgaria), Extreme LifeStyle NPO (Estonia), Comune di Tortona (Italy), Europejskie Forum Mlodziezy (Poland) and ProAtlantico (Portugal)

and the YOUTH IN ACTION programme of the European Commission.

A press report on this available here.