Promoting intercultural dialogue through juggling

  Egypt

Alexandria

Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: July 6 - July 20, 2009

Description: The project host is a local association for art and development. This group of visual artists, writers, photographers, movie makers, dramatists and musicians, was motivated by what is called the sense of the artist's social responsibility to abandon the traditional spaces of exhibiting and performance and go out on the street to make contact with the daily live reality. They aim to support a positive social transformation through an artistic practice that develops the mechanisms of contemporary arts to go out of the state of stagnancy surrounding them and to involve more members of the society in the artistic process. The group sees art as that neutral area which allows the existence of dialogue on different levels. So it tried hard to create a climate of dialogue that allows acceptance of the other, as a first stage to enable spreading the culture of social peace, through artistic group work.

The idea of this international volunteer project is gathering volunteers who have good skills in juggling, coming from different cultural backgrounds and from different countries, to work along with Egyptian youth. Together they will use juggling as an introduction for intercultural dialogue and to overcome cultural, ethnic, religious, and political differences. This will be through their interaction together and with the street, as they will use the public spaces as a place for their artistic practices and performances.
The afternoon program will be full of cultural and artistic activities.

The project takes place in Alexandria, Egypt.

There is an extra fee of 150 Euro for participation in this project, intended to support the hosting organization.

Cost in US$: USD 290

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: Motivated to work voluntarily within an international team, tolerant, open-minded and cooperative person with adventurous spirit.

Age Range: 18 and over

This Program is open to American and Canadian Participants.

Participants Travel to Egypt Independently

Typically Participants Work in Groups

CADIP - Canadian Alliance for Development Initiatives and Projects's Mission Statement: CADIP promotes peace, cooperation, tolerance and understanding in international, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural surroundings. The organization also promotes patterns and examples of civil activities focused on serving others, on building social ties and strengthening communities, on supporting civil society development. Aims and general objectives: * To promote volunteering as an expression of civic contribution * To strengthen the international contacts among young people * To build tolerance and understanding in multicultural and multi-ethnic surroundings *To promote multiunderstanding among youth all over the world * To facilitate the individual growth of the volunteers through the acquisition of work, life and learning skills * To work for the recognition and promotion of non-formal learning * To support the community initiatives and assist in community development.