Reciting hope

Performing arts to recover youths’ creativity and combat self-exclusion. This is the objective of “The moving project” whose aim is to counter the phenomenon of NEET (not in education, employment or training), namely, young people aged 15-24 that abandoned school or university and renounced seeking a job. The project, which ended in October, involved some fifty young people from three areas of the EU marked by significant drop out rates (Liverpool, Seville and Crotone). Thanks to the cooperation of employment services, foster-homes and social services the youth was involved in putting on stage a musical that draws inspiration from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s dream”. In June three groups gathered in Liverpool for the final performance, bringing on stage, in the same show, the results of a two-year workshop. Anne Françoise Storz was the general coordinator of the project “Moving” that gave at SIR Europe a insight on the NEET initiative and phenomenon.What could be the causes of NEET? What is its impact on society? “NEET is not a new phenomenon. It came to the fore in England not later than 1999, when it became evident that it was a critical issue that needed to be urgently addressed. Since then the British government has developed a wide range of dedicated projects, and it continues funding projects for the recovery of this youth. The NEETs phenomenon is present in all EU Countries, but unlike the U.K. it was unfortunately discovered only a few years ago. In Italy this phenomenon was addressed only in 2009, when ISTAT released specific data, conveying a dramatic picture: approximately two million young people are not in education employment or training. The reasons are many, and they include disappointments in school, difficult living conditions, solitude. These young people abandoned everything, they no longer see a future ahead of them, they don’t see the possibilities. An entire generation was lost. We have seen the effects on society in the riots in Rome a few weeks ago. These young people feel that they are not being listened to or taken into account, and their situation is such that they risk becoming violent. At economic level they represent a third of all workforce, unproductive youth that do not invest in personal formation. These are huge figures. If we intend to exit the crisis we have to listen to these young people, they are the ones that can boost economic and financial recovery”.What have been the achievements of the project with youth involved in scenic arts? “We decided to focus on performing arts in general to attract the youth on something they would appreciate and enjoy. Thanks to the theatre we managed to involve the youth, to stimulate their curiosity, and prompt their motivation for action. Theatre contributes to self-esteem, helps control aggressiveness, and it develops relationships. The greatest success was at personal level: the youth recovered their self-confidence. They said they felt reborn. Before being involved in the project many of these young people shunned physical contacts, they didn’t want to be embraced, nor touched and they didn’t want to talk about themselves. During the theatrical workshops they opened up, they started to feel a sense of belonging, that they were part of a group. They felt they were being listened to. They took possession of the text, they rediscovered the pleasure of creating a story. At the level of their studies it was a great achievement. They learned to read a script, use their voice, they acquired skills and they discovered talents they didn’t know they previously had. They started off with nothing, and thanks to this project the youths finally had an objective and they recovered hope, as they themselves said. Some went back to school, or registered for university programs. A group of young girls set up a theatrical workshop, while other young people attending the program were hired by the permanent Theatre of Crotone as technical assistants. A young boy decided to move to England to study acting”.The pilot project has just ended. How can the NEET phenomenon continue being at the centre of public attention? “The aim of European projects on these issues is to raise awareness on the problem, and school abandonment is a priority especially in those areas where youth unemployment is among the highest in Europe. The province of Crotone is one of the most one of Italy’s most disadvantaged areas. The figures are alarming, the youth present difficult cultural situations. They have very low job opportunities, and on top of this they are overcome by low self-esteem. They envision a gloomy future for themselves and they are de-motivated. This is why they wish to create a precedent, so that that the project many continue at local and national level, thanks to the attention and the financing of Provinces and Regions”.