Youth exchange ‘’Bus Stop Violence’’ in Italy

The representatives of Sciara Progetti partner organisations from Estonia, Spain, North Macedonia and Portugal got together in Morfasso, Italy in October for the ‘’Bus Stop Violence’’ Youth Exchange (YE) programme. The aim of the programme was to raise young people's awareness of gender equality and recognize the different forms of gender based violence through itinerant workshops and travelling theatre.
In October 2022, around 20 young people from 5 different countries gathered together in Morfasso, Italy for the duration of 8 days to tackle those topics.
The exchange is meant for the young people from Italy, Estonia, Spain, North Macedonia and Portugal, who are interested in learning about gender-based discrimination and to recognise the different forms of gender-based violence, its causes, consequences and ways to raise awareness and ideas to prevent it. Led by Sara Curioni and Paola Baiguini, these young people had the opportunity to  hear new perspectives, share their visions, anxieties, fears and the impositions they feel from society, diving into the interior of human emotions without the fear of judgement. 
Most of the project’s activities mainly took place in Ostello del Monastero in Morfasso. 
Before we started speaking about the topic we had an introduction day that was all about the activities, which helped us to get to know each other. We shared why each of us decided to come and participate in the program. 
First day was mostly discussion with fast and short introductory workshops about types of abuse and different types of violence and we also got to know the bus for the very first time.
Second day we started to study one of the most integral concepts of the topic under study: the principle of consent. Always surrounded by intimate moments, the second part of the morning focused on the motto "Model your reality". 
Third day, during the morning, we focused on gender roles, bringing to the discussion our perception of gender stereotypes and the inherent traumas.The next step was, through the technique of creative writing, express emotions and willingly, share them. It was a revealing moment, which increased the feeling of connection and the ambient of a safe place, required for such a heavy issue as the one these young people were and  would be confronted with. In the afternoon we address toxic relationships, through the introduction of a short theatre and consequent dialogue. The sharing was strong, personal and very emotional. 
On the fourth day we dedicated ourselves to the creation of a podcast and, at the end, the translation into our languages. The result was brilliant, with many moments of humour mixed with great insight, awareness and responsibility. 
Fifth day was all about creating videos which represented gender based violence. The task was to make a video about the topic which could reach youngsters and spread the word. After dividing into the groups each team decided what genre is suitable for their concept and, therefore, their own approach to the task. In the end we had a premier with very various videos from short tik-tok reels to a short well produced movie. In the end we had a lot of fun during the process of shooting the videos!  
During the other days, there were other non-topic related activities, such as introductions to the topic and travelling and visiting a nearby city. The project in the town of Morfasso didn’t have the easiest accessibility in terms of transportation, but the hostel and town itself are very nice and relaxing with a lot of space, which allowed to easily throw different activities both indoor and outdoor. Also there is a cute local bar with great hosts and very friendly locals.
The place in general is surrounded by nature, a beautiful church, old houses that are well-maintained with a breath-taking view over the mountains. So the environment was really calm, which was ideal for conducting a programme that tackled an emotionally difficult topic. Furthermore, the excellent organisation and preparation of the programme was key for allowing the participants to build new skill sets and get to experience it all in a truly unique setting with great people.