About theater and human rights

About Theatre and Human Rights

Together with Nina and Rebeka, in December 2019, we participated in a youth exchange within the Erasmus+ platform called “YouthExpression”, in the picturesque town of Mielno on the Polish coast. We spent almost two weeks together with young people from five other countries (namely Romania, Ukraine, Italy, Spain, and Poland).

Over 10 days, we collectively discussed, attended workshops, and educated ourselves in the fields of human rights and theatre. To be honest, no one was entirely sure how these two could be combined. Human rights, something abstract – intangible, and theatre without spoken words, an art form where facial expression, emotion, and body movement are the artist's only tools for formulating ideas. However, this project managed it.

After the first few days of getting to know each other, discussions, and workshops on human rights, we smoothly transitioned into the second part, where we tried to learn at least some basic principles of theatre. Understandably, it wasn't easy… However, we were lucky, as some of our international colleagues were more experienced and could advise us on working on the “boards that mean the world”.

For myself, I can say it was an amazing experience. Since I had the honor of speaking in front of an audience in the past, I thought I wouldn't have a problem with stage fright. The opposite was true, however. Standing on the imaginary stage, knowing that you can't just simply “talk your way out” of that position, is an indescribable feeling. Feeling the support of new friends, with whom we formed a strong bond in such a short time, only emphasizes how unique this experience truly was.

After a few weeks, the initial enthusiasm slowly fades. However, unforgettable experiences, new friendships, and perhaps even new relationships will remain in our memories for a long time. Through this short article, I would like to thank all the organizers, participants, and YouthfullyYours SK, our sending organization, for this amazing experience. We greatly appreciate it and hope to repeat it in the near future.

If you want to feel the unique atmosphere of this youth exchange, click HERE and see what our participants experienced firsthand.