During 2016 the project team travelled the 5 partner countries researching and exploring examples of good practice. These visits were set up to help generate material and discussion to assist developing the Best Practice Guide and course syllabus.
We would like to thank all the schools, playwork sites, adventure playgrounds, youth centres, teachers, school heads and administrators, practitioners, entrepreneurs and children and young people who shared their projects, programmes ideas and passions with us throughout the research phase of our project. Their input has helped to shape our understanding of the challenges they face and their different approaches informed our best practice principles.
Photographs of our time with these projects and organisations can be viewed in our Gallery.
Links to projects and organisations
Austria
| Project |
For each other – together |
| Contact |
Emina Eppensteiner |
emina.eppensteiner@aon.at |
| Website |
http://tu-was.at/projekt-detail-183/items/fuereinander-miteinander.html |
| Description |
Children and adolescents from different cultures, with different languages and religions often live side by side and not together. The project named “For each other – together” overcomes the everyday distances in the common theater play. All children and young people are welcome. In groups of max. 14 children or young people, games are developed together and rehearsed. Everyone finds space for his/her creativity and imagination. |
| Project |
Dream Catcher |
| Contact |
Christoph Rabl |
christoph.rabl@aon.at |
| Website |
http://www.kulturplattform-traumfaenger.net/html/theater/anna_wolf.htm |
| Description |
The drama-educational project of “dream catchers” addresses the question of how bullying and other forms of violence affect children and what can be done about it. In the narrative form of the fairy tale, “dream catcher” takes up motifs of the Grimm fairy tale figures and joins them in a dramaturgical arc. It tells how children and young people are gradually gaining social competency and finding themselves out of the wake of their despair and developing new life perspectives. |
| Project |
Symbolarbeit |
| Contact |
Margot Cammerlander |
info@symbolarbeit.at |
| Website |
http://www.symbolarbeit.at |
| Description |
With the help of symbols we are able to provide children and young people with an additional language when they cannot find the right words. In this context, symbols work similarly to an interpreter; furthermore, they transmit information one cannot or does not want to share. As a symbol may have infinite meanings and is interconnected with multiple feelings, the key is an individual approach to support children and young people in adverse situations. |
Poland
| School |
Elementary School nr 12 in Gdansk |
| Contact |
Iwona Stankiewicz |
istank@wp.pl |
| Website |
https://zkpig12gdansk.edupage.org/ |
| Description |
The school is a typical legacy of communist era as a building but filled with solidarity values integrating children of middle and working class, friendly for the newcomers. Drama is used for integration from early years and teachers are encouraged to explore its techniques for building stronger resilience. |
| School |
Special Elementary School nr 57 in Gdansk |
| Contact |
Anna Listewnik |
anna.listewni@yahoo.com |
| Website |
http://sp57gda.pl/netpanel/ |
| Description |
The school addresses individual needs of children with special educational needs. Drama is used as the tool for diagnosing and expressing more personal needs and creating a more inclusive environment. It also serves modelling constrictive attitudes including resilience. |
| Project |
Intercultural Kindergarten |
| Contact |
Agata Hofman |
agata.hofman@lanlab.pl |
| Website |
|
| Description |
The kindergarten is located at the sports club. The teachers are coaches and design spaces for free play and challenging physical activities. |
Hungary
| Project |
RS9 Színház |
| Contact |
Katalin Lábán |
katalin.laban@gmail.com |
| Website |
www.rs9.hu |
| Description |
The RS9 Theatre is a non-profit association, which opened its gate to the public in 1990. Nowadays they produce 100-140 performances annually, most of them being plays for children. RS9 organises and hosts several “Playwright and theatre” camps every summer for children and young people between 10 and 15 years old. |
| Project |
Board games as tools for development |
| Contact |
József Jesztl |
jejozsef@freemail.hu |
| Website |
|
| Description |
Board games have great potential as indirect pedagogical tools, as their internal rule-systems are relevant for every-day life, thus they can support cognitive, social and physical development. József is a social pedagogue who uses board games in his practice, with the knowledge of a wide range of games and their proposed application. |
Germany
| School |
Nikolai Schule |
| Contact |
Frau Hartmann |
ev-grundschule-psw@web.de |
| Website |
http://nikolaischule-pasewalk.de/ |
| Description |
Private elementary school, with 6 classes / 150 pupils. Meaningful, Christian based, involvement of situations from life environment of pupils. Little space to play, but extension was foreseen. Drama is used in German lessons (presentation skills) and later on in developing and playing theatre around themes in life. |
| Organisation |
Schüler und Jugendzentrum (SJZ) |
| Contact |
Frau Marion Kramer |
sjz@eggesin.de |
| Website |
http://sjz.eggesin.de/ |
| Description |
SJZ is a community centre for children and young people aged 6-27, open from 2 to 8 pm. Inside there is space for play, surfing the net, handicraft and outside is a large garden for beach-volleyball, football, bike half pipe, basketball and free play. Social workers, volunteers and peers are there for talking with, helping youth with homework or with social problems. Active marketing: at school and on the street. Per day 30-120 children and young people visit SJZ. Most of the programs are organised and directed by the children themselves. Three golden rules: be polite to each other, no politics, no drugs. |
| Project |
ZERUM – Center for Experimental Education and Environmental Education in Ueckermünde |
| Contact |
Johan Reinert |
slh@zerum-ueckermuende.de |
| Website |
http://www.zerum-ueckermuende.de/ |
| Description |
ZERUM is an out-of-school learning place, located directly at the lake “Stettiner Haff”. It offers adventure and educational programs for children and young people, youth events, as well as school holidays, project weeks and training for social workers. The combination of adventure, body and movement form the central aspects in the projects and program offerings. The guiding principles are in the field of experiential education, environmental education and integrative pedagogy. |
| Organisation |
International Art Research – Schloss Bröllin. |
| Contact |
Frau Christine Lauenstein |
c.lauenstein@Broellin.de |
| website |
http://www.broellin.de |
| Description |
Bröllin has 4 rehearsal stages and 3 conference/dance rooms and a large outdoor area where (international) groups can rehearse / try-out theatre/dance performances and where social and cultural activities with young people take place. Drama as an instrument for detection, orientation and cooperation of young people who did not complete education and/or experience problems in their social environment. They also integrate, during breaks and in the evenings, with the visiting international art groups. |
United Kingdom
| Project |
Scrapstore PlayPods |
| Contact |
Kirsty Wilson |
play@childrensscrapstore.co.uk |
| Website |
www.playpods.co.uk |
| Description |
The Scrapstore PlayPod® is a holistic process that works with the entire school community to change both the human and physical play environment transforming play at lunchtimes. |
| Project |
Gloucestershire Play Rangers |
| Contact |
Pip Levitt |
info@playgloucestershire.org.uk |
| Website |
www.playgloucestershire.org.uk |
| Description |
Play Gloucestershire is a registered charity that provides regular, free play sessions for children and young people in urban parks and rural locations across the county as well as project and partnership work. |
| Project |
Playing Out |
| Contact |
Alice Ferguson |
hello@playingout.net |
| Website |
www.playingout.net |
| Description |
A project supporting anyone who wants children and young poeple to be able to play freely outside their own front door. |
