Youth, Europe and Theatre (YET) is a theatre and language project in which pupils and teachers from different countries (The Netherlands, Finland and Greece) work together to produce three plays. The main goal of this exchange is to create a strong bond between the participants by jointly producing a stage play, which will help to break through the language barrier and gain an insight into other people’s cultures and heritage.
This year the participants are from the Teylingen College Leeuwenhorst from the Netherlands, Oulun Suomalaisen Yhteiskoulun lukio from Finland and 4th Lyceum of Katerini from Greece. The project is held in Katerini. For two weeks, the Dutch and Finnish guests will be hosted by the Greek, who will provide host families to ensure cultural exchange.
There are three teams, of which both produce a play of their own. The Dutch, Finnish and Greek pupils are blended into the groups. By jointly producing a stage play pupils have the possibility to communicate through speech, gesture, movement and music. This makes it easier to break through the ice and the language barrier, while also making new friends and learning more about each other‘s culture. The plays are based on a literature piece Antigone picked out by the host–country. This way the project will also familiarize the pupils with the other country’s literature and art. Making the plays and living and experiencing things tightly together for two weeks all create a strong bond between the participants. It also helps to gain an insight into other people’s cultures and heritage and creates a more open, less prejudiced attitude towards other cultures and strengthens the sense of European citizenship.
The Dutch, Finnish and Greek teams are further divided into acting teams, art factories, and the mediateam.
The art factory is responsible for the production of costumes, props, and set pieces for the plays. They use a variety of materials to create the sets, from paper and cardboard to fabric and wood. They also collaborate with the acting teams and media team to create a cohesive look for the play and to ensure that the props and sets are in line with the vision of the play. They also work closely with the choreographer and director to ensure that the movement of the actors and actresses is in line with the look of the play.
The media team consists of four students, two Greek, one Finnish and one Dutch, who report and photograph the different events happening during YET. They are responsible for creating content for the YET website and social media channels, such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. The team works closely with the acting and art teams to capture the progress of the plays. They also work with the coordinators and the “Fab Five” to keep parents and other interested people up to date with the progress of the project.
The project has often been funded by Comenius, an organization that supports the co-operation of European schools. YET has also won several prizes: The 2nd prize in the National Education Award (Netherlands 1998) and twice the European Label Award (Italy 2007, Finland 2008).
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