Apr 24, 2014
Welcome to the Transeuropa Village
European Alternatives is working together to celebrate Europe Day in May 2014 at our “Transeuropa Village Weekend”
Free lunch and refreshments provided.
Discover the unseen innovations & unheard voices uncovered from our Transeuropa Caravans!
We want to celebrate and connect initiatives that are using creative methods to develop civic entrepreneurship in communities across Europe andshowcase the issues in the Citizens Pact in light of the European elections.
People coming to the Transeuropa Village will see how getting involved in the community can be creative & entrepreneurial. They will see how people across Europe aredeveloping new forms of creative civic citizenship.
This event builds on our experience organizing Transeuropa Festivals and working with partners to develop concepts that bring together civic initiatives, such as Borders to Cross.
It will in particular put into the spotlight our Transeuropa Caravans process, which aims to understand how communities are using creative methods to cope with the crisis.
A group of 30 people will travel in caravans in six zones across the continent. Travelling through different environments – from the countryside to the city – our caravans want to discover how communities are imagining and enacting new ways of living.
The weekend will reflect the principles guiding this project, discovering the unseen and the unheard as well as connecting initiatives across borders.
Saturday & Sunday 17 & 18 May All day: Transeuropa Village
To enable participants to feel like they’re travelling through different environments, the space will be designed like a village (successfully developed at Borders to Cross.
We will also invite people to sample food from recipes we will collect on our caravan journey. Each menu will be curated based on a different theme, not based on the type of food or even village it’s from, but on the theme of the initiative who gifted the recipe.13.00-16:00: Discovering the unseen and unheard
Cardboard stalls will be placed in different parts of the room and each one will be curated on a different theme, featuring:
- Videos & cartoons surfacing unheard voices & unseen innovations from Transeuropa Caravans on that issue
- Artefacts (and the artists) from our “Europe for all, by all” exhibition showing new forms of political participation
At each stall, entrepreneurs from home & abroad, artists & performers & campaigners will use creative methods to get people to connect and create solutions based on the issues of the Citizens Pact.
We will invite parliamentary candidates to take part and connect with participants in these activities (to be confirmed).
A treasure hunt will also take place where people can discover “creative civic” within the nooks & crannies of the city.
16.00 – 18.00: Connecting initiatives across borders
People will bring their solutions to the “playground” – a blank canvas in the middle of the space – and make connections between the different issues & solutions in creative ways.
We will conclude the event showcasing the website where people will be able to map the unseen initiatives & add their own.
Our funders
This event is being funded by the European Parliament to raise awareness about creative ways of enacting citizenship across the continent.
We have selected this weekend to put creative civic citizenship at the heart of the European debate.
Our target audiences
Although our main target audience will be people who have developed creative civic initiatives and transnational cultural networks, we will also invite people who have expressed an interest in getting involved in these initiatives.
About European Alternatives
European Alternatives helps people use creative methods to imagine different ways of living in Europe. Run by 13 local groups across Europe, its main projects include Transeuropa Festivals, Transnational Dialogues, and the Citizens Pact.
Past funders have included Allianz Cultural Foundation, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Dynamo, Erste Foundation, European Commission, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Mercator Foundation and the Open Society Foundation.