Circus as Intercultural Encounter: The Completion of a 3-Year Project by Caravan Social Circus Network

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Circus as Intercultural Encounter: The Completion of a 3-Year Project by Caravan Social Circus Network

The Caravan Network project ‘Circus as Intercultural Encounter’ was a three-year endeavor that took place between 2019 and 2022 and sought to promote intercultural dialogue and strengthen knowledge and acceptance of diversity in society by advancing the capacity of social circus trainers. This project also aimed to develop and disseminate a training programme in the innovative skills and practices of intercultural dialogue as needed for effective anti-racism and social inclusion interventions, particularly relating to the circumstance of communities of refugees, asylum seekers, and new migrant youth.

The above took place through the following actions:

  • a needs analysis of circus organisations and their current intercultural capacities, aimed at identifying gaps and creating opportunities for further innovations in circus practice
  • the design of a new training programme for trainers in circus organisations who work with refugee and newly arrived migrant youth to deepen their skills and competencies in teaching and pedagogy, creativity, and leadership within their own practices and in their organisations. The product of this work will be included within the framework of existing training programmes—in particular, Caravan’s own Circus Trans-Formation (CTF) in Action programme
  • the publication and dissemination of a Training Guidebook on the social circus methodology for youth workers operating in intercultural settings

You can find the full guidebook here. We encourage you to download it, print it, use it, and write your own reflections on the tools and activities suggested. If you are interested in getting your hands on a hard copy, or you have any feedback or experiences relating to the topic, you can contact us at [email protected]—we would love to hear from you.

Click on the image below to view the guidebook.

This project was cofounded by Erasmus +

Project partners: Zaltimbanq (applicant) – Luxembourg, Caravan – Belgium, University College Dublin – Ireland, Altro Circo – Italy, Sirkus Magenta – Finland, Circus Planeet – Belgium, Skala – Slovenia, Palestinian Circus School – Palestine

Caravan Circus Network
Caravan is an international youth and social circus network of 30 circus schools from across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, that advocates for the positive impact of youth and social circus. The network was established in 2008 by 6 European circus schools, with a common goal to use social circus as an educational tool and to dedicate this work to groups from disadvantaged backgrounds with specific needs.
We are a non-profit organisation that is committed to developing the sector and empowering our members and their participants. Our members are closely connected, and these links have been created through our projects: Youth festivals and exchanges, training for trainers programmes, capacity building, volunteer exchange, production of research, seminars and gathering of resources.

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Caravan Circus Network

Caravan is an international youth and social circus network of 30 circus schools from across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, that advocates for the positive impact of youth and social circus. The network was established in 2008 by 6 European circus schools, with a common goal to use social circus as an educational tool and to dedicate this work to groups from disadvantaged backgrounds with specific needs. We are a non-profit organisation that is committed to developing the sector and empowering our members and their participants. Our members are closely connected, and these links have been created through our projects: Youth festivals and exchanges, training for trainers programmes, capacity building, volunteer exchange, production of research, seminars and gathering of resources.