Theatre Makes Politics (TMP)

Evora Portugal 28-30/11/2022 Research Workshop 3

Theatre Makes Politics (TMP)
Cooperation project in the field of theatre, education and citizenship
Erasmus+ 2022-2025
 Partners:  Bundesverband Theaterpädagogik E.V. (BUT) Germany (Coordinator),
La Transplanisphere (LT) France, Ex-Quorum (EQ) Portugal, Center for Intercultural Dialogue (CID) North Macedonia, Hellenic Theatre/Drama & Education Network (TENet-Gr) Greece, Stadt Theatre Dortmund (STD) Germany

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Research Workshop #3
“Christian religious dogmatism and politics ”
Evora Rortugal, 28-30 November 2022
Venue: Convento dos Remédios (Avenida São Sebastião, Évora)
Hosted by ExQuorum
Lead: ExQuorum, TENet-Gr

TMP in short: Based on theatre practices, TMP project wants to propose a creative response to address religious extremism, populism, racism and conspiracy theories in Europe. Through creative tools, TMP intends to support pedagogues and youth workers in their practices. In this sense, the project may help youngsters to find a deeper understanding of people who are “different”. TMP is about overcoming prejudices and discover the pleasure of exchanging, playing and acting for young people

The 4 Research Workshops for Theatre Makes Politics (TMP) project
1) Paris – Montreuil, 20-22 September 2022 (religious extremism)
2) Lesvos Isl Greece, 27-30 October 2022, (racism, refugees, xenophobia, nationalism)
3) Evora  Portugal 28-30 November 2022 (Christian religious dogmatism and politics)
4)  Berovo North Macedonia (January 2023) (Conspiracy theories and fake news)

Research Workshop #3 at Evora Portugal
Topic: The workshop will address specifically the topic of religious populism (in countries with a Christian tradition) and political exploitation, related to racism, lack of freedom, intolerance, social and political manipulation, with invited experts, to share related performing arts expertise and to develop the future working groups.
Workshop content: Sharing knowledge with experts, sharing examples of theatrical approaches, establishing research and writing groups, moments of debate and collaborative dramaturgy
Profile of the participants: Participants may be anyone interested in the areas of religion, politics, equality, intolerance to difference, feminism, active citizenship, art and education, artistic creation; namely, researchers; teachers, artists; facilitators/mediators, educators and other social workers; young people or specialists. Participants are expected to contribute to the debate and reflection, sharing their knowledge and collectively contributing to the continuity of the action.

DAY-TO-DAY SCHEDULE

SUNDAY, 27/11/ 2022 arrival in Portugal
19.00  Welcome and dinner

MONDAY, 28/11/2022

9:30     Energizer + body matter spirituality: experimentations"#

10:15 Open conversation on the topics discussed. Connections to the TMP´s project

11:00 coffee break

11:15 Religion, politics & art/ education: practices and possibilities, mediated by Rui Teigão

12:15 “Intersections” & a arte e educação como um lugar de espiritualidade by Rui Teigão

12:45 lunch

14:30  brainstorming for a creative outlet:  frontiers

15:15 break

15:30 brainstorming for a creative outlet: inquisition and new territories (colonizations).

16.15 coffee break

16.30-18 brainstorming for a creative outlet: religion/spirituality, art

19:00 dinner

THURSDAY, 1/12/2022 Departure

(*)This lecture will be held online (prior registration required).

INVITED SPECIALISTS: 
José Manuel Pureza, Professor of International Relations at the Faculty of Economics of Coimbra University, politician and former Member of the National Parliament.
Teresa Toldy, Holds a PhD in Theology (Feminist Theology) from the Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen (Frankfurt/Germany). Full Professor at Fernando Pessoa University (Porto).
Júlia Garraio. Is a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, where she is part of the thematic line Democracy, Justice and Human Rights. Her post-doctoral project focused on cultural and literary representations of the rape of German women and adolescents in the context of the Second World War.
Rui Teigão, He is Master in Theatre Studies by the University of Lisbon. He was General Coordinator and Programmer of FATAL - Lisbon Academic Theatre Festival and producer and actor at GTL - Theatre of Letters Group. He is project manager at DGArtes (Direção-Geral das Artes) where he coordinates the Prague Quadriennial Working Group and programs of financial support for artists.
Rafaela Jacinto A disobedient artist, genderqueer performer and poet, was born in 1994 in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. They graduated in Theatre at the ESTC (Lisbon) in 2016 and specialized in History and Culture of Religions at the FLUL (Lisbon) and studied Documentary Film. She has collaborated with national and international theater companies, as well as writers and filmmakers.
António Manuel Alves Martins, Graduated in Theology from the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University in 1987, in 2003 he obtained a PhD in Dogmatic Theology from the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, with the thesis under the title “The bodily condition of the person. He is Assistant professor of the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University in Lisbon, in the area of theological anthropology. He belongs to the Center for Studies in Religions and Cultures, Faculty of Theology, and to the Scientific Society of the Portuguese Catholic University.

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Theatre Makes Politics (TMP)  (in short)
an Erasmus+ Youth Project 2022-2025

Main partners
-Bundesverband Theaterpädagogik e.V., (BUT), Germany (Project Coordinator)
-La Transplanisphere (LT), France
-Hellenic Theatre/Drama & Education Network (TENet-Gr), Greece
-Ex-Quorum - Associação de Divulgação de Eventos Culturais (EQ), Portugal
-Centre for Intercultural Dialogue Association, (CID), Rebublic of North Macedonia
-Stadt Theatre Dortmund (STD), Germany 

Main areas of concerns: TMP proposes to originate a creative response on anti-democratic forces in European societies.
The consortium of partners considers it is extremely important that youth workers working with young Europeans are able to use creative tools to question how populists and extremists  try to manipulate them.

The project explores how some groups create opposition up to enemyship to other groups, be they refugeexpected es, muslims, “unbelievers”, LGBTQ+ a.s.o.

The expected  results: TMP  develops creative worktools, a handbook, an a network, in order to empower youth workers to be able to shift perspectives in their concrete work, and to help young people to find a deeper understanding of people who are “different”, overcoming prejudices and discover the pleasure of exchanging, playing and acting with people they would otherwise never meet.

The project’s objectives are:
- To empower and encourage youth workers to integrate methods into their work that will help them to address antidemocratic attitudes, such as racism, nationalism, intolerance, as well as religious fundamentalism in all its forms.
- To enrich the set of methods and tools available for youth work in the above fields with techniques from the field of theatre pedagogy and other performing arts.
- To create a core of youth trainers/ workers who have skills to tackle these sensitive issues in their work, and who also can act as multipliers

The project will address the 4 following issues using theatre/drama and performing arts:

1. Far-right extremism and populism: Racism and anti-refugees' rhetoric
2. Far-right extremism and populism: Conspiracy theories and fake news
3. Religious fundamentalism: Islamic fundamentalism 
4. Religious fundamentalism: Christian religious dogmatism and politics

The steps:
a) 4 face-to-face Research Workshops (Paris – Montreuil France, September 2022: religious extremism, Lesvos Isl Greece, October 2022: racism, refugees, xenophobia, nationalism, Evora Portugal November 2022: Christian religious dogmatism and politicsm, Skopje, North Macedonia, January 2023: Conspiracy theories and fake news)
b) Research & Writing Groups
c) Drafting a manual
d) Presenting the manual to selected youth workers
e) Testing the methodology with Youth Groups
f) Re-writing the manual & work-tools
g) Dissemination events (local conferences)

Implementation period 1/3/2022-1/3/2025

Project ID No:  2021-2-DE04-KA220-YOU - 000049944
(Erasmus+ Cooperation partnerships in youth 2021, Round 2)

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