ACTInYOUth: theater and technology to promote intercultural communication

The ACTinYOUth European project ended this week in Barcelona with a final day held at the Rosa Sensat Teachers' Association . The meeting was the icing on the cake of two years of collaborative work between almost a dozen social organizations from all over the continent with the aim of promoting intercultural communication among young people through theatrical methodologies .

The project has had the expertise of seven entities from various European countries , among which are Culture.World.Me from the Netherlands, Stichting CWM Education from Germany, the Associazione Culturale Smascherati from Italy, Sdruzhenie Walk Together from Bulgaria, the Associaçao Check-In Cooperaçao e Desenvolvimento from Portugal, Iasis from Greece and, on behalf of Catalonia, the technological cooperative Colectic , located in the Raval neighborhood, in Barcelona.

Throughout the two years of the project, ACTInYOUth has developed various work methodologies to bring the principles of intercultural communication closer to young women, through theater and technology. Among other activities, theater workshops have been held with young people and training for workers and educators .

In the case of Colectic , the national representation in the project, the cooperative has been the technological ally for the creation of an interactive platform , which consists of a digital space so that participants from all countries can exchange ideas, results and materials on ongoing activities. At the same time, it is also an online training tool for youth educators from where they can access different training resources and good practices.

In addition, from the Raval cooperative they have also generated an ' interactive performance ' that allows you to travel through the experience and work of the young people participating.

All the entities participating in the ACTInYOUth have contributed to creating a joint dossier that collects the results of the project, the specific challenges and the solutions implemented , with the aim of disseminating it nationally and internationally. The document is especially aimed at youth organizations and public bodies interested in creating local intercultural workshops to promote the inclusion of young people.

Communication dynamics to break the ice

The closing day of the ACTInYOUth project began with an activity by Luismi Castillo , Colectic trainer , who broke the ice with a game in which he gave each of the participants a rubber stamp of a different color. Each color corresponded to a word , a meaning or a watchman who had to ensure the smooth development of the game.

The participants had to find which word matched its meaning, under the watchful eye of the team of watchers. Finally, after finding all the word-meaning pairs, the participants were able to form a key sentence that served as the starting point for the day: ' good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity '.

Theater to break stereotypes

The closing had the participation of the team from the Carabutsí association , also from the Raval neighborhood. Several members of the organization, led by Sam Mosquetón , president of the association, performed their shadow play 'L'arribada del Poble Gitano a Barcelona', under the artistic direction of Gecko con Botas and with a script by César Martínez.

It is a representation that traces the history of the gypsy people from their arrival in Barcelona , ​​in the year 600, to the second half of the last century , when the community gathered in London to recognize their fact differential and be equipped with a flag and an anthem. All of this, explained through a shadow projection made with 3D printed sheets and the participation of Carabutsí's own team who played different characters.

Once the performance was over, Sam Mosquetón performed two songs , one en calón and then 'Gitana Hechicera', a song that got everyone in attendance excited to dance.

Technology to empower young women

Continuing with the festive dynamic, the day concluded with the ' Data Control Wars ' game designed by Colectic. It is a role dynamic that aims to make all its participants aware of how we transfer our personal data over the internet and what we can do to change this situation.

Before starting the game, Martina Mayrhofer , from Colectic, invited the participants to reflect on the amount of personal data we unknowingly give to large corporations. "Who among us, right now, doesn't have a cell phone in their pocket? We all do. Surely, to get here, you checked the route on some app or, if you get sick tomorrow, you'll go into the health service via the internet. All this is data that we are giving away to big companies," concluded Mayrhofer.

Precisely these large companies are one of the actors participating in the 'Data Control Wars', which has four teams of players:

• The turbo-capitalist corporations that are the main interface of data collection and behavior manipulation.
• The integrated users , who become a source of data during their daily life, but without being too aware of how this process happens and what implications it has.
• The public administration in charge of generating the regulatory frameworks by which the rest of the game's participants operate.
• Organized citizens who care about who has power over the economy and public institutions and who know that the Internet has spawned new forms of economic and social control.

Through a series of action cards , the different teams must interact, reach agreements and argue what their position is in order to win the round. The rounds of the game keep changing and are placed at different hypothetical points in the future, so that new situations are generated to which the players must know how to respond.