Do you work in education and believe that folk heritage can help young people find themselves and make choices for the future?
During the week of 24 to 28 April, the Joint Staff Training (JST) of the partners of the project Youth Folktales – Probing our Fortune took place in Palermo. Partners from Austria, Hungary and Greece participated in the training, as well as a delegation from CESIE, which was the host organisation. A total of 18 people took part in the sessions. The aim of the training was to provide the participants, trainers and youth workers, with a new working methodology through the use of folk tales and Folk Tale Boxes to stimulate young people to reflect and think about their choices and future steps in the field of work.
The meetings were led by Hungarian trainers Éva Virág Suhajda and Gabriella Lukács. Another key figure was Ildiko Boldiszar, an expert in folklore and folk tales. She explained her Metamorphosis Folk Tale Therapy method, giving theoretical and practical insights into the use of folk tales in the field of therapy and self-help.
One of the products of the project was the creation of the above-mentioned Folk Tale Boxes, six sets of illustrated cards supporting the folk tales work of the stories chosen by the project consortium. Some of these boxes, namely ‘Aminbeg’, ‘Rebeka’ and ‘Puss in Boots’, were used to train youth workers in storytelling and self-reflection. Furthermore, among other non-formal training activities carried out, the youth workers were divided into small groups with the aim of developing a specific therapeutic session through stories, based on the objective matrix previously illustrated by Ildiko Boldiszar. The group was thus able to appreciate the originality and depth of a reflection guided by elements derived from folk tales and how many practical implications it can have.
During the five days of training, a guided group visit was also organised to the ‘Antonio Pasqualino’ International Puppet Museum, as puppets, or ‘pupi’ in Sicilian, are a folkloric element par excellence of Sicilian folk tales and tradition. In addition to Sicilian puppets, visitors were able to admire a vast repertoire of puppets from the rest of the world. At the end of the visit, the group witnessed first-hand a performance of the puppet opera. This was certainly a different methodology from storytelling with cards, but one that was perfectly in line with the theme of the project and one that the European partners were delighted with.
The training was a success both in terms of the skills and methodologies acquired and shared, and in terms of the connections and emotions created over the five days. This was evidenced by the final eye contact greeting, where more than one participant was moved by the emotional intensity of the moment.
About the project
Youth Folktale – Probing Our Fortune – Carrier Preparedness and Life navigation with Folktales is funded by DG EAC, Erasmus+ KA2 – Cooperation partnerships in youth. The main objective of the project is to improve the preparedness of young people so that they are able to make informed and informed choices in relation to their lives and careers, developing their capacity for self-reflection and resilience.
Partners
- Rogers Foundation, RF (Hungary, coordinator)
- CESIE (Italy)
- Hafelekar (Austria)
- Active Citizens Partnership (Greece)
For further information
Read more about Youth Folktale, visit https://youthfolktale.eu/ and follow us on Instagram.
Contact Giorgia Scuderi: giorgia.scuderi@cesie.org.
