How can methods of Participatory Theatre and Drama Based Research - in combination with social pedagogical support and mentoring - contribute to a more successful active inclusion of young adults in disadvantaged situation?

This is one of the main questions of the Austrian project “Stop: Now we are speaking!”, which is part of the European Social Experimentation Project called “Adult Life Entry Network (ALEN) – Empowerment and Activation of Young People in Disadvantaged Situations". ALEN has been developed together with partners fromHungary,Croatia andSerbia within a period of 18 months between 2011 and 2013. The improvement of the active inclusion of young people at the edge of adult life is seen as one of the key social challenges European societies have to face as a precondition to achieve some of the EU's key objectives as defined in the Europe 2020 strategy. Starting from common guidelines and principles and using a broad common approach in all participating countries, specific pilot schemes are being tested in accordance with the concrete social policy environments and needs in the different countries, to increase the active inclusion of disadvantaged young people, thereby also developing better forms of cooperation of national and regional as well as local authorities, social NGOs and all other relevant stakeholders. The process thereby is designed to take a holistic and flexible approach while using a diversity of methods and creative instruments and apply them according to the needs of the situation and the target groups in each of the countries involved.

Following these ideas by using tools of Participatory Theatre like Forum Theatre and Legislative Theatre (Boal 1998, Mazzini & Wrentschur 2004) and methods ofDrama Based Research( Wrentschur 2008 & 2012) “Stop: Now we are speaking” seeks to improve the situation of young people in disadvantaged situations by strengthening their capabilities to manage their own lifes and become active citizens. Incombination with individual social pedagogical support and mentoring a process of personal and political empowerment has been activated, that leads to various goals and questions:

 -          What so far unknown, less visible and obvious obstacles can be identified, that hinder the active inclusion of socially disadvantaged young people as well as their potential to find adequate solutions for their individual problems/obstacles?

-          In which ways this approach can help to develop and facilitate better access to existing rights and resources?

-          Is there a potential to open stakeholder dialogues and strengthen partnerships between different regional and national institutions and initiatives, which play an active role in the protection of youth’s rights and interests?

-          How can this approach reduce prejudices and discrimination against and raise awareness for the situation of young people in disadvantaged situations?

-          And is there a way of improving social policies through bridging the policy gap between decision makers and the concrete realities of the people concerned?

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