vranje

Seminar

Vranje, June 1-3

Research: Alternative guide through the history and future of Vranje – printed and scene version
Summer actions: The history of Vlasina Lake, Waving, Performance "Two Suitcases - Two Travellers", Regular workshop for spreading the most beautiful stories on friendship and goodness – outdoor creation and distribution of promo-material

Research & Actions

The group had meetings every Thursday. Local actions were prepared at these meetings. Through this form of work, the youth had the opportunity to present themselves, meet each other and learn something about their neighbours – Roma, refugees and returnees and to integrate into the activist volunteer group that was working on bringing closer the people of different ethnic background in their town, and at the same time cooperating with the peer groups in Serbia.

By gathering the material on local history of everyday life where Turkish, Serbian, Roma influences were visible, the volunteer group in Vranje established considerable cooperation with local institutions: the National Museum, Youth Cultural Centre, National Library, Centre for Talents. At the premises of these institutions and organisations, the youth gathered information, recorded talks and examples of interethnic affiliation and cultural richness of Vranje.

The following public actions were carried out as a complement to meetings and regular research actions in the institutions:

* Waving Actions: along the round from Vranje to Belgrade, and along the railway Vranje-Vladičin Han, as well as at the bus and railway stations, the youth were waving to passengers, welcoming them and seeing them off: they had T-shirts and banners with messages, leaflets and various objects they had made themselves (keys made out of dough, suitcase stickers, postcards).

The Waving Actions encompassed 22 young people and animated more than 500 citizens. Visas in the bottle, the action realised on the nearby lake Vlasina. The group prepared bottles with similar messages, threw them in the lake from boats and swimmers were eager to reach and catch them. This action encompassed 12 young people and animated at least 200 people.

* My place on the town map: on the map of Vranje, everyone drew places where something important had happened from the perspective of everyday life: the corner where Petar and Jasna fell in love, the bakery with the best cream cakes, the place where there used to be a famous café where Bora Stanković (renowned Serbian writer from Vranje) met Koštana (Roma girl and the character from the famous play by B. Stanković). Through these simple stories, the picture of Vranje as a place with people of different ethnic backgrounds was created. The map of Vranje with the appropriate agenda was made and exhibited in a big format. The action encompassed 15 participants, and the map was seen and completed by at 150 citizens.

* Suitcase – street performance. Drama street performances: A Serb and a Roma arrived to Vranje, and at the bus station accidentally ran across each other, dropping their suitcases. By mistake, they switched their suitcases since they looked the same. When they arrived home and opened the suitcases, they realised that their personal belongings were not in them, but some other things, unusual and different. As they were taking out one by one object from the suitcases, the stories of the objects were being told... Same suitcases, different contents.

The suitcases had their custodians-guides. From each suitcase, both Roma and Serbian, the objects were taken, containing wishes, memories and messages, and each object had its 'guide' who explained to the public the origin, use, myth or story related to that object. The performance was realised by 7 participants and was performed 4 times in front 150 people.

The actions were covered by the radio and TV Vranje and presented on the website of the Vranje Youth Association – the local site for the youth programmes, as well as in the "Network" – the bulletin of nongovernmental organisations of Serbia.

The group CD presenting themselves (individually and as a group through actions) to the youth in Serbian towns (Subotica, Bela Crkva, Kragujevac, Dimitrovgrad – the towns with the Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Bulgarian and Serbian population) and distributed it in 5 copies.

The group from Vranje, packed their rich programme in a TV programme and on streets practiced and checked whether it was funny, catchy... They made a lexicon, new visas, pepper catalogue... Roma/Serbian/Vranje story in Vranje was exceptionally well accepted, and had to be proved in other towns.

Intercultural Caravan

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.