Theatre Without Borders

About the project

Our project is designed to use theatre as an innovative form of youth work, empowering young people from Italy, Spain, Turkey, Romania, and Georgia. The central ambition is to create an inclusive and creative environment in Naples where young participants can express themselves, build competences, and connect across borders. Theatre is not only an art form, but also a method of non-formal education that develops transversal skills, promotes social inclusion, and encourages active citizenship. The objectives of the project are clear and grounded in youth work practice : – Promote inclusion and equal opportunities: by engaging young people with fewer opportunities whether due to economic hardship, geographic isolation, or cultural barriers we want to demonstrate that theatre belongs to everyone. The stage becomes a space where every voice matters. -Foster personal development: participants will strengthen self-confidence, creativity, resilience, and adaptability through experiential methods such as role play, improvisation, and group reflection. These are not abstract goals, but practical competences that…

Objectives

Our project is designed to use theatre as an innovative form of youth work, empowering young people from Italy,
Spain, Turkey, Romania, and Georgia. The central ambition is to create an inclusive and creative environment in
Naples where young participants can express themselves, build competences, and connect across borders.
Theatre is not only an art form, but also a method of non-formal education that develops transversal skills,
promotes social inclusion, and encourages active citizenship.
The objectives of the project are clear and grounded in youth work practice :
– Promote inclusion and equal opportunities: by engaging young people with fewer opportunities whether due to
economic hardship, geographic isolation, or cultural barriers we want to demonstrate that theatre belongs to
everyone. The stage becomes a space where every voice matters.
-Foster personal development: participants will strengthen self-confidence, creativity, resilience, and adaptability
through experiential methods such as role play, improvisation, and group reflection. These are not abstract goals,
but practical competences that improve employability and social participation.
– Encourage intercultural dialogue and solidarity: the exchange will allow young people to discover the richness of
different traditions and identities, turning diversity into a resource rather than a division. A performance may
combine a Turkish song, a Spanish dance, and an Italian monologue, showing how cultural differences can
create something new together.
– Support active citizenship and social responsibility: theatre will serve as a civic space where participants learn to
listen, collaborate, and take initiative. They will explore social issues, rehearse solutions, and reflect on their role
as young citizens in Europe.
– Strengthen youth work competences: group leaders, trainers, and facilitators will expand their toolbox with
concrete non-formal methods games, storytelling, reflection circles that they can apply in future projects and in
their regular youth work.
Ultimately, the aim is not only to deliver a performance in Naples, but to give young people the experience of
working as a team, overcoming challenges, and discovering that creativity can be a response to exclusion. They
will return to their local communities inspired, more skilled, and better prepared to act as multipliers of Erasmus+
values.
In this way, the project aspires to transform a week of theatre into long-lasting growth: for individuals, for
organisations, and for the communities they belong to.

Activities

The project will bring together 25 young participants aged 18–29 and 5 group leaders, accompanied by 1
facilitator and 1 trainer, (total: 32 people) from Italy, Spain, Turkey, Romania, and Georgia. From each country,
two young people with fewer opportunities will be included, ensuring that the exchange is genuinely accessible

Generated on: Aug 4, 2026
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The content of this page is published for information purposes only. The project was funded by the European Union. However, the communication about the project
that is published through this page expresses the views of the project beneficiaries only and it does not represent the views of the European Union or the European
Commission. It shall not be deemed to constitute legal or official notice on behalf of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union
nor the European Commission can be held responsible for this content nor the use thereof made by any third parties.
and inclusive. The group will be balanced in terms of gender and background, reflecting the diversity of European
youth.
The main activity is a 7-day youth exchange in Naples, Italy, which will combine non-formal education methods
with theatre practice. Activities are structured to follow the cycle of experiential learning—experience, reflection,
and application so that young people acquire competences in communication, creativity, teamwork, and
intercultural dialogue.
Planned activities include:
Ice-breaking and team-building sessions: interactive games, role-plays, and creative exercises to build trust,
overcome shyness, and create a safe group atmosphere.
Theatre and improvisation workshops: participants will learn through body expression, voice exercises,
storytelling, and improvisation. They will experiment with theatrical techniques such as forum theatre,
role-switching, theatre of oppressed, and collective scene creation.
Movie and media workshop: participants will learn how to document their experience through short videos,
photography, and social media storytelling, which will later be used for dissemination.
Intercultural evenings: each country group will share traditions, songs, dances, and stories, turning diversity into a
lived experience of cultural dialogue.
Rehearsal and performance: the group will co-create a theatre play inspired by their shared experiences and
social themes that matter to them. The performance will be presented in Naples, open to local youth, families,
and community members.
Reflection sessions and Youthpass workshops: daily evaluation circles and guided self-assessment will help
participants recognise the skills they are developing and connect them to the eight key competences for lifelong
learning.
Follow-up action planning: participants will design small activities to implement in their home communities after
the project, ensuring that the learning extends beyond Naples.
The participants will not be passive consumers of activities but active co-creators. From choosing the themes of
the theatre performance, to designing costumes, to running social media updates, they will be directly involved in
shaping the exchange. Group leaders will support the process, while the facilitator and trainer will ensure the
educational flow.
The combination of theatre, intercultural learning, and reflection ensures that participants will not only create a
final performance but will also gain competences in teamwork, creativity, resilience, and civic engagement. This
approach makes the project both an artistic experience and a youth work practice, directly aligned with the
objectives of Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges.

Impact

The expected results of this youth exchange go far beyond the final theatre performance in Naples. At the core,
the project aims to generate tangible learning outcomes for the participants, growth for the partner organisations,
and a positive ripple effect in the wider communities involved.

Generated on: Aug 4, 2026
Booklet
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63
162
The content of this page is published for information purposes only. The project was funded by the European Union. However, the communication about the project
that is published through this page expresses the views of the project beneficiaries only and it does not represent the views of the European Union or the European
Commission. It shall not be deemed to constitute legal or official notice on behalf of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union
nor the European Commission can be held responsible for this content nor the use thereof made by any third parties.
For the participants, the project will result in the development of key competences such as communication,
teamwork, creativity, resilience, and intercultural dialogue. Through theatre and non-formal learning methods,
they will improve their self-confidence and learn to express themselves in new ways. According to Erasmus+
impact studies, 81% of young people who take part in exchanges report an increase in soft skills relevant for
employability. We expect our participants to experience similar results: learning to adapt when things go wrong in
rehearsals, to collaborate on costumes or scenography, or to step on stage and share their story. For those
coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, this will be especially meaningful, as it gives them visibility and
recognition in an inclusive and supportive environment.
The impact will not be limited to personal development. Each participant will return home with a concrete
“back-home action plan,” such as running a small theatre game in their school, organising a storytelling evening,
or creating a social media post to share what they learned. This ensures that the competences gained are
multiplied and transferred to their peers. We expect at least 100 young people across Italy, Spain, Turkey,
Romania, and Georgia to indirectly benefit from these follow-up actions.
For the partner organisations, the project will result in strengthened competences in experiential pedagogy,
intercultural youth work, and creative methods. Olive Tree APS in Naples will consolidate its role as a local
reference point for cultural inclusion, while GEGED in Turkey, Verdesur in Spain, NEPOD in Romania, and
Umbrella in Georgia will enrich their toolbox of methods, which can be used in future Erasmus+ activities. At least
three of the partners have already expressed interest in replicating parts of the programme—such as
improvisation workshops or the movie-making activity—in their local youth centres.
On the community level, the project will increase visibility of Erasmus+ and European opportunities. The public
performance in Naples will reach around 70–100 local audience members, including youth, families, and
neighbours, creating a shared intercultural experience. Dissemination on social media, led by participants
themselves, will further extend the reach, aiming for at least 10,000 impressions across Instagram, Facebook,
and TikTok. Local media contacts in Naples (such as Il Mattino and Radio Napoli) will be approached to give
coverage to the project, bringing it into the public eye and showing that culture and youth work can be powerful
tools for social inclusion.
Finally, the project will contribute to long-term impact by strengthening networks among partners. The trust and
cooperation built during this exchange will lead to future collaborations in Erasmus+ and beyond. Research
shows that 68% of organisations that join youth exchanges go on to develop further projects together, and we
expect our consortium to follow the same path.
In short, the results we expect are empowered young people, stronger youth organisations, and more connected
communities. The impact will be visible not only in the skills participants gain, but also in the way they use these
skills to engage their peers, inspire their communities, and continue shaping Europe as active citizens.

Project partners

• 🇮🇹 Olive Tree
  Italy
• 🇹🇷 GAZIANTEP EGITIM VE GENCLIK DERNEGI
  Türkiye
• 🇷🇴 New Prospects for Development
  Romania
• 🇪🇸 ASOC SOCIO CULTURAL VERDESUR ALCALA
  Spain
• 🇬🇪 UMBRELLA
  Georgia