Performing intercultural dialogue on the stage: Art and intercultural education

Abstract

The present paper analyses, as a case study from an ethnographic perspective, the experience of building a performance through a participatory process during the Youth Forum on Water and Intercultural Dialogue (Turin 20-25 May 2008). The complexity of the participatory process that involved 23 young people from different countries, followed by three facilitators, is analyzed through four main axes of reflection: a) The use of art for dealing with difference and re-thinking identities; b) The role of facilitator as mediator and coordinator, where everybody was invited to share his/her skills and competences; c) The creation of a learning and productive environment, spending time on getting to know each other, on relaxing and on feeling self-confident; d) The intensity of the experience during the five days, 24 hour per day, of living together.