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TITLE OF GOOD PRACTICE:

Circumstances - A circus in a room to change the circumstances of life.

KEYWORDS:

Social integration – multi-ethnic integration – drop out phenomenon – youth creativity - prevention

GOOD PRACTICE TYPOLOGY:

National Project

TARGET GROUPS:

Lower secondary school

WORKING GROUP COORDINATING THE INITIATIVE:

VIP Association "Let’s live positively" Onlus Italy and non-profit school building Martiri della Restistenza in Nichelino (TO) have organized workshops to carry out a social circus, a project where an educator, an art consultant and a trainer for

COUNTRY WHERE IT TOOK PLACE:

Nichelino - Torino, Italy

LANGUAGE OF THE REVIEW:

English

DEFINITION OF TARGET GROUP:

Teachers, Young People, School Directors.

DESCRIPTION OF THE GOOD PRACTICE:

The desire to bring Clown-therapy in places attended by children at risk comes from the long experience in Clown-therapy applied with children in hospitals and from the profitable and friendly relationship and friendship that can be created during the training in Clown-therapy in 2005.
Following a study of the realities in the Turin area, it emerged that a series of difficult situations have been now experienced by various social groups as part of their daily lives. Joint families, negative influence of the media, drop out phenomenon are some of the causes of exclusion of minors. Based on these considerations, the project "ViviamoInPositivo" – “Let’s live positively” aimed at developing a way to work specifically for the prevention and / or reduction of youth distress in its many forms of manifestation. After noting the difficulties of young people to establish positive relationships in the social context with their peers, and after having determined that the current school situation does not facilitate the multi-ethnic and profitable friendship relations between teenagers, they have decided to organize a course based on enhancement of skills in young people through an immersive experience like that of circus arts and Clown-therapy. Thus the project Social Circus "Circumstances" was born, that is a workshop of comic-therapy and circus arts, addressed to children who are living in difficult situations.

RESULTS:

Thanks to this project organized by “Circumstances ", the bullying phenomenon in these institutions has disappeared; the multi-ethnic integration has become real and several boys have acquired skills, improved relationships with peers and with teachers. Moreover self-esteem in children has been enhanced. The school drop-outs have decreased and the school profit improved.

INDICATORS:

Intervention protocol, Classroom management, Classroom rules, Whole-school anti-bullying policy, Videos, Intensity teachers (10 h. or more), Intensity children (20 h or more).

EVALUATION:

From 2005 to 2010 about 200 children benefited from the project and about 1500 school children witnessed the performances of the circus acted out by social companions.
The Social Circus project "Integra-Rom" in Nichelino began in 2005 and was performed for the 6th year in 2010.
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COMMENT:

The project was extended to the following institutions:
Asti: "Circumstance-clown within the family" is a project carried out at home for five disabled children and their families
Turin: Juvenile Prison Aporti Ferrante, Education community -schools at risk
Bologna: Juvenile Prison "Pratello"
Genoa Comunità filtro
New York: Foundation for youth people "The Madonnina"
Modena: women's distress and uneasiness, prostitution and drug addiction (Buildings Martha and Maria)
Treviso: Juvenile Prison

REFERENCES TO OTHER EVALUATION:

http://www.clownterapia.it
www.viviamoinpositivo.org

NAME OF COMPILER:

project team

NAME OF INSTITUTION:

don Milani

ROLE:

coordinator

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