What better method of fostering the inclusion of young unaccompanied migrants in society than using dance and art tools and approaches? Through the implementation of dance and art workshops, the HeArts of Youth project has in the past months proved that such tools can really make the difference! The HeArts of Youth project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union and part of its implementation phase is for trained youth workers to apply dance and art-based techniques with young unaccompanied migrants around Cyprus. The workshops have as a goal to foster the inclusion of young marginalized youth in society by boosting their self-esteem, confidence and team-work skills through dance and art techniques.
With great success, in the past months a total of 5 workshops were implemented by 7 trained youth workers in Nicosia and Larnaca District with over 45 young migrants participated in the workshops. Overall, 6 different kinds of workshops were implemented, three dance based-techniques workshops and 3 art based-techniques workshops, and through this ‘journey’ of workshops the professional youth workers focused on building the young migrants’ emotional identity, boosting their confidence and supporting them to adapt to society. Additionally, the project provides detailed resources and materials like a Handbook and didactive videos that were created by the expert professionals of the project consortium, aiming to create extra support to professionals working with young migrants in the partner countries, including Belgium, France, Italy, and Cyprus.
The workshops show that the project will have a long-term impact since the tools and techniques acquired by the trained youth workers will be utilized in future workshops and other activities with young migrants, contributing the sustainability and significant value of the HeArts of Youth project for future generations.
To learn more about the HeArts of Youth project visit the Website here The HeArts of Youth | Dance and Art therapy for social inclusion of migrant and refugee youth