CREATIVE THINKING - Kick-off Event 10-12 January 2008
From QUERDENKEN Wiki
Event Report
12 January 2008: a football flies through the air
At 12.30, a football sails through the air of the conference room of the Europahaus in the 14th district of Vienna. There are 80 people from all over Europe in the hall. The ball is kicked right across the room – and almost hits the speakers of a sound system…. Isn’t it a bit early to be kicking off the EURO 2008?
10 January 2008: the first guests are drifting in – “Decolonializing Vienna”
Two days previously: 10 January 13.00 hours, in the foyer of the Europahaus: the first students and teachers have already arrived. They have only just checked in and brought their suitcases to their rooms, and things are already starting to happen in the city. The social scientists Araba-Evelyn Johnston-Arthur and Belinda Kazeem are showing Vienna to the new arrivals from a completely different perspective. “Decolonializing Vienna” is the subject of the tour – from the Opera House via the Museum of Ethnology and the Stadtpark to Löwengasse, this short journey of discovery follows the trail of the history of black people in Austria. What was it like to live in Austria then as a black person, and what is it like now, and what is known about this topic? These questions are at the heart of the city tour. Although it is bitterly cold and the time remaining until the official opening of the Creative Thinking project in the Europahaus is short, the participants are bravely keeping up with the two guides and hanging on every word they say. Their stories are very moving….
Download more pictures of the Decolonializing Vienna Tour here: Media:CT_KICK_OFF_decolonializing_vienna_tour.rar
Creative Thinking – what is that?
In the coming days, students and teachers from all over Europe are going to be our guests in Vienna, in order to take part in five different workshops on different aspects of intercultural dialogue, but above all to enter into an intercultural dialogue themselves and to hold an exchange of views with colleagues from all over Europe. They have come from everywhere – from Italy, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania, Luxemburg and Malta, Turkey and Slovenia … to mention just a few. A total of 19 countries and 25 schools. “Creative Thinking Together” is our motto – and the participants really had their hands full, because the goal of this event was on the one hand to develop ideas and projects, and on the other hand to set up school partnerships – so-called cross-border teams – in which these ideas and projects will be implemented in the time from January to May.
The opening
10 January 2008, 17.00, Europahaus Vienna, the conference room: the participants have almost all arrived. Only a few are missing now who will come in the evening. The room is filling up, and after some delay the official opening of the first event of the project ‘Creative Thinking – for the innovative management of cultural diversity’ begins. The guests are officially welcomed by Catherine Danielopol-Hofer from the Ministry of Education, the Arts and Culture, which commissioned the project, and by Kurt Wagner, the Director of KulturKontakt Austria, the organisation which is organising and carrying it out. In the meantime, the last pairs of headsets for the simultaneous translation are being handed out.
As if often the case, the highlight comes at the end. The opening speech is held by Krzysztof Dobrek, a Polish musician who plays in a wide range of different groups. Best known of these is his band Dobrek Bistro, with which he has created a very distinctive musical genre together with musicians from Russia, Brazil and Austria. Unfortunately he has left his accordion at home, but a short film about his music compensates for that. In his talk he reveals his approaches to multiculturalism and illustrates them with his own life as a musician and as someone who loves diversity – and not only in music.
Download more pictures of the official opening here: Media:CT_KICK_OFF_opening.rar
The official opening is over, but the day has not finished. After dinner together we have a game planned – the World Café.
Getting to know each other in the World Café
The young people and teachers have brought objects with them from their home countries, which are intended to symbolise their country and their identity. The objects are spread out on separate tables. The participants sit down at the tables and think about the possible origins and owners of the objects. People chat and discuss with each other, they laugh and think. Those who have not yet entered into intercultural dialogue are doing so now, because at the end of the day we are all a bit curious. Do the olive branches really come from Greece? A children’s book – but which language is it written in? The walnut cake looks delicious – but can we eat it too? What is that funny knife? Questions and more questions, but more than anything else the participants in the World Café have a lot of fun. At the end, the secrets are revealed of course: the owners declare themselves and can then briefly introduce their object and tell everyone why they chose exactly that particular item. After the mysteries have been solved, we sit and talk together for a bit longer. But most of the participants are actually very tired – it has been a long day, and the orangery of the Europahaus is emptying …. It’s time to recharge our batteries for the coming days.
Click to watch slideshow:
Download more pictures of the World Café here: Media:CT_Kick_off_World_Cafe.rar
Ready for the off
11 January 2008, 9.00: the final operational details are now being discussed in the plenum. The online work platform is being presented – now we have to listen carefully, because this platform should provide a space where work can be carried out on the joint projects in the coming months: for reports and documentation and for an exchange of views – for communication and discussion. One can see interested and surprised, but also bored faces. Some people are obviously puzzled. But those who are still not sure about how things work have another opportunity in the afternoon to ask the experts questions and to have them explain the platform.
Almost 10.00: off to the workshops now!!!
The workshops
Workshop 1 - Participation & Youth Culture
Participation and youth culture are on the agenda of another workshop, which has been developed by Philip Ikrath and Anna-Katharina Plach from the Institute for Youth Culture in Vienna. In this workshop the participants obtain an overview of the themes of youth cultures and participation, and are stimulated to develop innovative, youth-orientated opportunities for participation in decision-making processes beyond conventional political structures. Cultural differences, but above all things the participants have in common in relation to this issue are discussed and individual approaches are reflected upon.
Find out more about this workhsop here: Workshop 1 - Participation & Youth Culture
Workshop 2 - Podcasting - Digital Storytelling
The participants of the Podcasting workshop led by the media educator Patricia Köll produced and created radio programmes for trouser pockets. Podcasts are digital media files which can be disseminated via the internet and downloaded to portable devices such as iPods or mobile phones. As soon as they have grasped the technology, the fledgling podcasters swarm out to gather statements on the issue of “What does Europe mean to you?” and to find out what we actually know about each other with questions such as “What is the capital of Luxembourg?” or “Is there a difference between German and Austrian?”. But the participants themselves also play a role in their own podcasts – each of them sings the European anthem in his or her own language. Find out more about this workhsop here: Workshop 2 - Podcasting - Digital Storytelling
Workshop 3 - Telling & Listening
Find out more about this workhsop here: Workshop 3 - Telling & Listening
Improviasational Theatre
Gibberish – that is the language of the Improvisational Theatre workshop. Gibberish is a fantasy language which consists of syllables which are put together in a meaningless way. The participants communicate in this language and everyone understands each other. The participants of this workshop led by the actress Sonja Muchitsch have a lot of fun. They communicate by gesticulating and, of course, in gibberish. With the aid of various methods and games, the students and teachers immerse themselves in the world of improvisational theatre and start to understand each other better through non-verbal communication. How it is done is not the question – the main thing is to understand one another.
Find out more about this workhsop here: Workshop 4 - Improviasational Theatre
Creative Thinking, Creative Experiencing, Creative Living
Find out more about this workhsop here: Workhsop 5 - Creative Thinking, Creative Experiencing, Creative Living
Conducting with the Minister – The Supporting Programme.
The evening of 11 January 2008: those who missed the Decolonializing Vienna city tour the previous day can take part in it this evening. Depending on what the participants feel like doing, there is also the alternative of going to Vienna’s Haus der Musik, and those who wish to arrange their own evening’s entertainment can do so.
The Minister of Education, the Arts and Culture, Claudia Schmied, takes part in the visit to the Haus der Musik. And it is not only the school teams who have brought objects from their countries with them: in order to initiate a conversation with the participants, the Minister has also brought something with her: she has a small figure with her, which, depending on its position, can portray an optimist or a pessimist. “As a politician it is sometimes not so easy to stay optimistic,” she says with a laugh. Then they chat a bit more – about the picture book from Estonia, about a work of art and two little angels from Lithuania and a portable instrument from Sicily.
Then the journey into the world of music begins. The interactive exhibition areas in the Haus der Musik offer new, innovative approaches to the subject of music. Some try their luck at interactive conducting – but conducting the Vienna Philharmonic is not so easy…. The evening comes to an end with a pleasant meal in Cantion, the restaurant in the Haus der Musik.
Slideshow of our visit in the House of Music:
Download more pictures from the visit in the House of Music here: Media:CT_KICK_OFF_house_of_music.rar
Now we’re getting serious: commitments and finalisation
12 January 2008, 9.00 – 11.00: all the participants now have time to prepare their presentations for the plenum. Each workshop group has ten minutes in which to report on what they have done in the workshops. In the remaining time there is another opportunity to agree on project goals and contents in the newly-formed cross-border teams, and to fill in a commitment statement – because this has to be handed in at the helpdesk before departing. And it really happened: by the end of the event every team has found a partner team and thought of a project idea. There are even a number of teams with three partner schools.
These are the partnerships which have been created, and the project themes: CREATIVE THINKING - Creative Showcase
Presentations and close
12.01.2008, 11.00, in the conference room of the Europahaus: now the results and reports from the different workshops are being presented. It starts with a technical hitch – the workshop group “Podcasting” would like to present a podcast they have created together, but there is unfortunately no sound. They give a brief explanation to the other participants about what a podcast is, then they sit down again somewhat disappointedly. The next in line are the participants from the “Improvisational Theatre” group – they demonstrate the artificial language of gibberish – and as nobody can understand, it is translated straight away by the participants. The workshop group which dealt with the subject of language reports in several sub-groups. Listening and telling was the focus of their work – they have found out a lot about each other and have discovered a number of things they have in common – not only with regard to language.
The presentation by the “Participation” group reports on the problems involved in the participation of young people in the opinion-forming process, and informs us about individual approaches, common ground and possibilities. The Creative Workshop has organised a real little exhibition. Among other things, there is a sculpture made of wire upon which photos of many of the participants have been glued. This now adorns the head office of Creative Thinking. In the meantime, the technical conditions have been fulfilled for the presentation of the podcast. The ‘reporters’ wanted to find out how much we know about each other – “What is the capital of Luxembourg?” and “What is the difference between German and Austrian?”. In this way the group made its audience ask themselves how much we really know about each other.
Dr. Anton Dobart, Head of Division I for Schools Providing General Education, Educational Planning and International Affairs in the Federal Ministry of Education, the Arts and Culture, expresses his thanks for the excellent presentations and the results of the workshops. He is visibly impressed by the enthusiasm of the participants and the results of their intensive cooperation. As a sign of recognition the ministry ist going to support the continuing work of the cross-border teams. In this way, the participants have the opportunity to meet each other and to invite experts and artists to their schools – a great conclusion to this event with a completely new perspective for the future cooperation!
Slideshow with pictures from the closing ceremony:
Download more pictures from the closing ceremony here: Media:CT_KICK_OFF_presentations_farewell.rar
A football flies through Europe
On 12 January 2008 at 12.30, a football sails through the air of the conference room of the Europahaus in the 14th district of Vienna. There are 80 people from all over Europe in the hall. The ball is kicked right across the room – and almost hits the speakers of a sound system…. Isn't it a bit early to be kicking off the EURO 2008?
That’s right, because it is actually the kick-off of Creative Thinking – Alexandra Wimmer, one of the two project managers, gets the game going – not the Euro 2008, but fruitful cooperation and fair play in the newly-formed project partnerships. And now the game is underway and the ball flies on and on and on…
We are already looking forward to seeing you again in May! Nicolette Wallmann and Alexandra Wimmer
Vienna, 20 January 2008
