Caravan. Culture on the move

CARAVAN CULTURE ON THE MOVE outline of a project due to take place over several weeks in iran to promote inter-cultural dialogue / status: june 2005. a column of vehicles carrying artists and other creative individuals from europe and the middle east travels across lonely landscapes in iran, stopping at various places on the edge of the desert. wherever it stops – whether it's a school, a library, university or arts centre – becomes a place of encounter and dialogue between the local people – especially children and young people – and the travellers from the "caravan". stopping for several days in each place, the caravan will put on various events for and together with the local inhabitants: architects will take the audiences at their slide shows to the faraway cities of europe as well as holding building workshops. authors will read out their stories and try out new types of narrative with participants at creative writing workshops. illustrators will supervise painting and handicraft workshops. actors, jugglers and clowns will put on performances for everyone. when it's time to move on again, some people might decide to join the caravan while others from the caravan might decide to stay put for a while. what remain are traces. aims: • to promote inter-cultural dialogue and exchange between the eu and iran as well as encourage mutual respect and understanding; • to offer low-threshold access to european culture for a wide audience in iran; • to reach out to people outside the international metropolis of tehran; • to invite young artists and other individuals active in the arts sector to participate in the project and thus facilitate encounters between young artists from various fields and from various regions of europe and iran. activities: • various workshops headed jointly by europeans and iranians on building, idea generation, literature, painting, handicrafts and drama will encourage active participation; interpreters will be on hand to ensure the smooth running of the workshops; • cinema and theatre performances and book exhibitions will present facets of european culture to a wide audience; • readings and slide lectures will spirit the audience off to faraway worlds • discussions will encourage participants to explore a whole range of different topics. target group: • iranian children and young people from the various places visited • european children and young people in front of monitors via the internet planned duration of project: all activities in iran will take place in autumn 2006.