LUGGAGE FOR THE FUTURE

Intercultural Caravan

Intercultural Caravan "Luggage for the Future" was a 'crown' activity of the project, held in the period from October 29th to November 04th, 2007.

Five young people, participants of the project Luggage for the Future: Mine, Yours Ours from each town gathered in Belgrade from where they all together, with the leaders headed for all the towns of the "Luggage" by bus, to present themselves with their presentations, as well as a joint presentation.

The participants' task was to keep diaries during the Caravan (they were given small notebooks for that purpose), and the most authentic and "the funniest" extracts from their diaries were printed in Group 484 Agenda, together with photographs from the Caravan, being a likable, different and important document in this project.

It is also very important to emphasise that the participants had an organised visit to local authorities (Municipalities) in each town where project participants talked with municipal presidents, their deputies and representatives (who had signed Cooperation Memorandums), and they additionally familiarised the authorities with the project Luggage for the Future.

Kragujevac

The Caravan first stopped in Kragujevac, where the participants stayed longest – for two days, since they had preparation seminar for the joint tour. On the first evening, the participants went through intensive group integration workshops, and the next day, in Great Hall of the First Kragujevac High School they rehearsed their individual presentations - mini performances that they had prepared in groups in the previous phases and which were the sublimation of everything they had researched and done. After that, they jointly prepared and rehearsed their joint street performance, which was called same in each town – Wake up Call to the Town.

Wake up Call to the Town is a street walk and happening, during which the participants carried out a joint performance that focused attention on messages of the project, carrying several banners (We are those children, Who, where and what are we?..), as well as a big banner with the name of the project and the logo of the European Commission. Furthermore, within the happening, the participants from all the towns gave presents, authentic and unusual souvenirs from their towns (visas from Vranje, painted pebbles from Bela Crkva, bookmarkers from Dimitrovgrad, small umbrellas from Kragujevac, "buchure" from Subotica).
The first Wake up Call was carried out on main and most frequent streets of Kragujevac, with active participation of citizens, interested in presents, asking what was going on... After the Wake up Call they headed for the High School Hall where the groups presented their performances. Visitors could also see the exhibition of material gathered by the group Sopče from Kragujevac High School during summer as well as artefacts brought from Vranje, Dimitrovgrad, Bela Crkva and Subotica.

Before they continued for Vranje, the Caravan participants visited the refugee kindergarten in Kragujevac where they also carried out their performances and included the children in them as well. This visit raised sensitivity of all and ended up in laughter and tears, contributing to even firmer integration of the Caravan participants.

Vranje

In Vranje, individual performances were carried out on the main square, before accidental passers-by and the invited audience. The participants assessed people from Vranje as excellent hosts and they remembered the walk through the town as very interesting and dynamic, emphasising in their diaries surprised people who they managed to "wake up" with their street action.

Dimitrovgrad

Characteristic of the Caravan in Dimitrovgrad was that parts of the performance were carried out in the town market before surprised but delighted audience. On the third day of the Caravan, the group was already strongly bonded which they proved by spontaneously singing an old song from Dimitrovrgad "Pošla Trojanka na vodu".

Bela Crkva

After a long journey, the Caravan participants were accommodated in Home for Children without Parental Care in Bela Crkva, which after the Caravan was over was pronounced as the deepest emotional experience for all. The children from Home actively participated in the Wake up Call, carrying symbolic suitcases, singing and helping participants. After the culmination of the Wake up Call with a joint performance in the middle of the town market, these children were absolutely the most grateful audience of all the individual performances.

Subotica

In Subotica, after the Wake up Call which in this town was carried out quieter than in other towns, the project participants went to the top of "Old Lady", the popular name for Town Hall and threw a lot of paper suitcases (looking like a flock of birds) with messages for the future and then in the atrium of the Gallery they carried out their performances, ending with a long traditional dance "Bačko kolo", initiated by the group from Subotica and joined by all the participants.

After the joint lunch, the participants parted in tears from their hosts in Subotica and headed for the last tour, to Belgrade, from where they left for their respective towns, with a firm promise that they would stay in contact and continue working through creative, researching processes...

At least 400 citizens in each city had opportunity to see street action Wake up Call and obtain gifts from project participants. Main performance of the Caravan attracted something more visitors in Vranje, Dimitrovgrad and Bela Crkva (minimum 150 each) than in Subotica and Kragujevac where program was attended by around 100 people.