1st exchange visit - London, 12-19 November 2011
Partnership Building
The Partnership Building Phase of the project laid the foundations of a transnational space for young Europeans to explore cultural, political, societal and environmental challenges together by focusing on the element of water and how it impacts on their lives geographically, historically, economically and culturally. The Partnership Building Phase tested out how one question could be at the centre of a creative collective European enquiry: ‘How can water be used as a metaphor for cultural exchange, creative dialogues and environmental learning?’. The question informed the development of a year-long programme of activities.
Message in a Bottle (Partnership Building Phase) objectives were to:
• Provide time and space for youth work practitioners to build trust, respect and understanding for creativity and collaboration. This included 18 young people from the 5 partner countries UK, Poland (2 organisations), Turkey, Portugal and Spain.
• Test out the seed of the Message in a Bottle idea and its ability to inspire others.
• Understand each other’s passions and what motivates our work.
• Exchange knowledge and understanding of each other’s stories, geographies, histories, climate challenges, economies and how it affects young people, and include the direct experiences of young people themselves.
• Make a social place, a safe place, a performance place and most importantly an imaginative creative space.
• Explore diversity, being honest about its challenges, working out a method for resolving misunderstandings and difference.
• Learn about water, researching climate change and environmental issues in participants’ own countries to include relevant sustainable initiatives, scientists, water and energy specialists.
• Build confidence in the role of the arts and culture as a medium for engagement between young people and as a source of employment.
• Build a sense purpose amongst the group so that they can act as Ambassadors for the project back in their own country and how it promotes a creative response to being a young European.
• Explore a shared sense of European citizenship in the light of all of the above.
Furthermore, priorities of Message in a Bottle (Partnership Building Phase) were to:
• Establish friendships and working relationships.
• Open participants’ eyes to what is happening beyond their own locality through others’ stories.
• Create a shared set of values and a methodology that could be carried in the ‘DNA’ of the project.
• Identify what further resources are needed.
• Allocate roles and responsibilities.
Message in a Bottle (Partnership Building Phase) achieved all the above enabling participants to share knowledge, develop new skills and to together develop a year-long programme of activities for the Message in a Bottle project to be delivered at local and European levels between December 2011 and December 2013.
Message in a Bottle (Partnership Building Phase) was supported by the Youth In Action Programme (action 4.3)
