peacecamp 2011: Around the ginkgo tree
peacecamp 2011: Around the ginkgo tree - Jewish-Israeli, Arab-Israeli, Hungarian and Austrian Youth between national identity and cultural diversity
July 4th-14th, 2011 in Reibers/Waldviertel and in Vienna
Youth from Austria, Hungary and Jewish and Arab young people from Israel will meet for 11 days around a ginkgo tree in the small village of Reibers in Lower Austria and discuss issues of their own identity and their relation to each other.
They will bring their own thoughts, ideas and gadgets to illustrate their personal, religious, cultural and national identities and will share these with each other, using creative tools to bridge communication gaps due to the lack of a common culture and language.
A team of artists, teachers and (art-)therapists will help them develop forms of communication apt to to share their experience with one another and to impart this to a larger audience, in Reibers as well as in Vienna.
Talks with the inhabitants of Reibers, a visit to the former Iron Curtain at the Czech-Austrian border and the shared time together will challenge both, hosts and visitors to reflect and check their attitudes towards borders between nations, religions and people.
Psychoanalytic group sessions will offer opportunities to reflect upon the attitudes and feelings evoked in this context; creative experience with artistic tools, trying out new modes of expression via the microphone, the video camera, a stage, an audience will hopefully foster the self-image and self-respect of the participants and provide them with a protective screen against racism and xenophobia.
