SEE THE PHOTO GALLERY. CLICK THE LINK ON THE TOP RIGHT>> Artkam Youth, a student group at West Suffolk College, funded by the British Council's Youth Connect International scheme, organised a meeting of young people from four European countries under the theme 'Boundless' at Hemsby Beach Holiday Village near Great Yarmouth (October 23 - 30 2004).  | | Working together... |
Ed Snowdon, 17, from Bury St Edmunds who is in the second year of a Performing Arts course at West Suffolk College, and a member of the E0.45 Theatre Company, said: "What's so good about this is that we brought people from across Europe together and integrated them. There were about 57 people, groups from Estonia, Hungary, Poland, and Catalonia. People would be surprised how similar we are. Obviously there are cultural differences, where we live and things, but as young people we all think and feel the same about our world. It is so good bringing people together through music, dance and drama - it's really special. "It was nice to see everybody really participating - I wasn't sure how they would fit in with people speaking different languages and things, but everyone came together for the same purposes and it was a really good experience to be part of. "We stayed at Hemsby for a week. On the first day, we started off with four different half hour workshops and people then had a chance to choose what they wanted to do for the rest of the week. We had to sieve through and sort them out because, obviously, some groups were more popular than others.  | | Working together... |
"We all worked as a team; the eight students in Artkam Youth (the dream team!) all had different roles. I was like a runner: if there were any problems, people from all the different countries came to me - if they needed more blankets or to find out what was supposed to be happening, any timetable changes. It was my job to run around making sure everyone had got what they wanted and everybody was comfortable. "With Performing Arts, you get confidence. When you are in this sort of situation, you have got to be confident enough to go up to people who speak a different language and talk to them. It would be so easy just to sit there and just stay in your country, but we bring everybody together and communicate. It was an amazing experience because we could all meet people from other countries and see that there are no differences - we have all got the same heart. "At the end of the week, we put on a performance of what we had done in the workshops. Each workshop leader, with their group, put together a piece on the theme of 'Boundless'. Then the workshop leaders got together and worked out how to devise a show. It was so nice to see how people from all the different countries had been split up, they weren't just there with their friends, and they tried really hard. You expect maybe a few flakes, but everybody tried SO hard.  | | Ed |
"There wasn't a big audience or a huge stage. We made the show for us, and we showed it to us, and that's what made it so special. It was nice to show that these countries could come together, communicate and put on a show. Everybody respected everybody else, and their culture. "The Hungarians said they liked being here because they were more respected by older people and had more freedom than at home. We had already done an exchange with the Hungarian group - when we went out to stay there, I found personally that it is very, very strict. Parents are on such a different level to their children. "It was very nice for them to see how open we all are. That's what's important, it's all about sharing love all over the world. We don't need to go bombing everyone; we show how we can just bring all these countries together and be so successful. I think that's a lesson for the rest of the world." SEE THE PHOTO GALLERY. CLICK THE LINK ON THE TOP RIGHT OF THIS PAGE>>
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