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how was the #IdeoIdeisExperience born?
For the past 18 years, Ideo Ideis has been supporting teenagers in Romania to express their true selves and in the process of their transformation to also shape the communities they belong to. We started as a Youth Theatre Festival and over time we evolved into an artistic and social manifesto.
Our story began in Alexandria, a city that never had a theatre. Here we built a platform that makes it possible for the public to experience artistic productions created by teenagers which generates eye-opening interactions between high school students and cultural professionals. For seven days each summer, they become trainers and mentors in an intensive process of personal development through art.
In 2020 the theatre and related arts workshops dedicated to teenagers, exclusively held in Alexandria up until that point, became a new pillar of the brand - The Theatre and Awakening Capsules – and travelled across the country.
A year later we created a new pillar - The Theatre and Film Camp - a week of personal exploration, under professional guidance, for teenagers to create performances and short films inspired by topics relevant to them.
In Alexandria, the cultural urban regeneration process that began with the festival has expanded all year round through the Ideo Ideis Laboratory, launched in 2022 with community support. And because the impact of such initiatives on everyone involved is becoming increasingly visible, we are not stopping here.
We keep on believing in ideas that move people, communities, and mindsets.
In 2023, we connected all these pillars of the Ideo Ideis phenomenon in a new project: a circular learning experience that starts in 8 cities across the country, continued with the creative Camp, met the public in Alexandria during the Laboratory, and rounded off with the seven-day Festival.
Teenager by teenager, we are creating cultural revitalization hubs in Romanian communities.
what the #IdeoIdeisExperience looked like
theatre and film #IdeoIdeisCapsules
We brought the essence of the learning experience through art, concentrated in intense Capsules, in 8 cities.
For 6 days in February, almost 200 teenagers learned to connect to themselves and others in a series of personal development workshops through theatre and film, guided by leading artists and educators.
#IdeoIdeisFestival
The #IdeoIdeisExperience came full circle when participating in the 18th edition of the Festival held in Alexandria, with revelations, reunions, and a new learning experience.
The teenagers experienced 7 days of intensive theatre and related arts workshops, and various cultural events, from theatre productions, to the most recent and appreciated cinematographic productions.
Their camp productions were showcased to the audience, mentors, and high school theatre groups from all over the country.
teens ask, community answers
20 high schoolers were selected from the Capsules to participate in the theatre and film Camp. Their search continued with a series of interviews conducted in their communities. The objective: identify the most relevant topics and concerns of people in your hometowns.
If you would make a movie about a story from your town, what would it be about and who would star in it? or What would you like to do in your town, but you can't? are some of the questions the teens tried to find answears for. They gathered 240.
#IdeoIdeisCapsules:self-discovery through theatre and film workshops
who?
14–19-year-old high-schoolers
when & where?
February 14-19
Bistrița
Roșiorii de Vede
February 21-26
Bârlad
Craiova
Roman
Sf. Gheorghe
Tulcea
Zalău
Personal exploration always begins at home, in the community where we grow up. It's where we ask the first questions that brings us closer to ourselves. So we concentrated the #IdeoIdeisExperience into intense Capsules and we brought it to several cities in Romania.
For 6 days, in 8 cities, almost 200 teenagers worked with a theatre trainer and a film one, established artists in their fields, with one main goal: to become more aware of their own potential, no matter the career they are considering.
How did it work?
They worked individually and in groups, played games, discovered, reflected, and discussed - a complete and authentic #IdeoIdeisExperience.
Objectives: gain more confidence, learn how to communicate more healthily with those around us, how to work in a team, and most importantly, have the courage to express one's voice. In addition, the participants received a better understanding of their professional prospects and how one can engage with its community to make a real difference.
theatre and Film #IdeoIdeisCamp
when?
July 31 - August 8
We creatively fuelled the teens' curiosity for one week during the summer holidays through theatre and film. All Camp activities were designed to bring ne closer to its calling. The teenagers had the guidance of a team of top professionals in the field, who lead their creative explorations towards originals cultural products: a theatre performance and a short film. All new, all theirs and their fellow students'.
Each of the two productions was based on scripts inspired by the results of interviews conducted at the end of the Capsules with people in their hometowns. Together they voice the stories and curiosities that bring us together.
how it worked
Days at camp started with a healthy breakfast before the quiet was replaced by the excitement of morning rehearsals where the 20 high schoolers were guided through professional improv exercises tailored for each individual, but also for the entire group. Exercises were meant to connect them with their creativity.
Lunch was dedicated to introspection, as each participant was invited to review their morning research through a series of questions designed to place the exercises in the context of their learning journey. This way, discoveries about the self, the world, and creativity were integrated according to each participant's individual needs. Having learned about themselves, they then returned to a new round of rehearsals.
Evenings were about connecting to each other and one's creativity, through contemporary artistic ideas. Following dinner, teambuilding exercises took them into a space of understanding and navigating relationships with others to practice opening to the world. A series of discussions - private or group - brought them face-to-face with inspirational people who taught them about self-acceptance, the importance of perseverance, and the responsibility of personal decisions.
#IdeoIdeisLaboratory
in Alexandria
when?
August 10
where?
Alexandria
The #IdeoIdeisLaboratory for personal exploration through theatre and related arts is a space built with the help of the community, for the community. It gives our local cultural initiatives the depth of a continuous process.
The project was born in 2022, in Alexandria, where the Ideo Ideis story began 18 years ago. We wanted to build a place here where meaningful get-togethers and exploration processes are possible throughout the year. And we succeeded. At the Multifunctional Youth Centre, our host space, we bring alternative education and thought-provoking events closer to ourselves and those around us.
Our activities throughout the year are grouped into two segments:
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personal development workshops through theatre & related arts
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public events: theatre performances for teenagers, children's performances, film screenings, educational conferences to connect us with ourselves and others, and masterclasses with people who inspire us.
challenge: engage with your audience
For the 20 teenagers and the stories they created at Camp, the Lab was their first encounter with the public.
In early August, the two productions were presented to the local Alexandria community. This was where they received real-time feedback, answered questions, and discovered new perspectives on the topics they approached in the creative process.
#IdeoIdeisFestival.18
when?
August 11-18
where?
Alexandria
A celebration dedicated to youth theatre groups across the country, #IdeoIdeisFestival marked its coming of age this year. We celebrated this moment together, in Alexandria, and we've seen an entire city transform into a huge festival stage - with outdoor screenings and performances, concerts, street installations, professional theatre performances, meet-and-greets with renowned artists, masterclasses, debates, and other interactive events dedicated to teenagers and the local community.
The 20 high schoolers got the chance to showcase their production from the Camp in front of the other participants, whom they watched in their performances entered in the Festival. They received feedback, guidance, and mentoring from renowned professionals.
Talks, screenings, and mentoring - gave context to their creative experience and new lenses to relate to art. They did not leave with answers that voice an absolute truth, but with their own voice. More confident, more connected to their own emotions, and more aware of the impact they could have in their community. And with all the tools to make the world like them.
team
Ana Fierăscu
Project coordinator
Adriana Guță
Project assistant
Carmen Matei
Financial officer
Alexander Dumitrescu
Capsule Coordinator
Bogdan Bogdănoiu
Camp Coordinator
Laura Ducu
Communication Manager
Alexandra Scânteianu
Communication Officer
Teodora Cașcarade
Social Media Manager
Denisa David
Junior Social Media
Vlad Simion
Designer grafic
For questions about the #IdeoIdeisExperience project, you can contact Ana Fierăscu at ana@ideoideis.ro.
#IdeoIdeisExperience is a project financed with the support of EEA Grants 2014 - 2021 within the RO-CULTURE Programme. The total value of the project is 1.023.732 lei (206.893,95 euro), and its implementation period is 12 months.
EEA Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe. There are two overall objectives: reduction of economic and social disparities in Europe, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics. The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA).
The donors have provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014. For the period 2014-2021, the EEA Grants amount to €1.55 billion.
More details are available on: www.eeagrants.org și www.eeagrants.ro
RO-CULTURE Programme is implemented in Romania by the Ministry of Culture through the Project Management Unit. The Programme aims at strengthening social and economic development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management.
The total budget amounts to almost €34 million.
For more details access: www.ro-cultura.ro
