CARE Festival | Book of Refuge

Name: CARE Festival | Book of Refuge
Start: 2024-11-10T10:00:00+02:00
End: 2024-11-10T17:00:00+02:00
Location: Larnaka Municipality Theatre

Schedule

Sun Nov 10 2024 at 10:00 am to 05:00 pm

UTC+02:00

Location

Larnaka Municipality Theatre | Larnaca, LA

The Larnaca Cultural Foundation for Children and Youth, in collaboration with Larnaka 2030, invites you to an all-day conference for parents, artists, and teachers. Featuring mothers and women from different backgrounds, we unfold their personal testimonies as people who experienced the trauma of war and violent displacement from their homes, focusing on the needs and care that refugee children need today.
What can these stories teach us?
How displacement and refugeeism are reshaping contemporary European societies?
How can our cities become safe refuges for people experiencing war and forced displacement?
By bringing real stories to the fore, the Conference sheds light to these questions, engaging participants in an open-discussion process that leads to the documentation of these stories and the creation of a unique document: the "Book of Refuge".
We host Musicians Without Borders and Fabienne van Eck to inspire us through their experience with vulnerable groups in different parts of the world and, in particular, their work in refugee camps in the long-suffering and neighbouring Middle East. Continuing with participatory workshops, we discuss ways to create safe spaces for all different communities, fostering empathy and understanding for the stories that each one carries in their suitcases.

🔸 CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
10:00 - 10:15 | REGISTRATIONS

10:15 - 10:30 | OPENING CEREMONY

10:30 - 11:30 | MOTHER REFUGEES: STORIES, STRUGGLES, AND STRENGTH
Participating: Amira Kobrosli (Lebanon), Anna Sydorets (Ukraine), Mikaella Vasileiou (Cyprus), Nadiia Mikhailina (Ukraine), Olena Skalyodes (Ukraine)
The discussion is moderated by: Kelly Diapouli (Larnaka 2030) & Salome Paraskeva (Larnaca Cultural Foundation for Children and Youth)

11:30 - 11:45 | COFFEE BREAK

11:45 - 12:45 | CHILDREN REFUGEES: SHARING STORIES AND HOPES
Participating: Angela Kaimaklioti (Cyprus), Clintin Ambeno (Cameroon), Maria Koumparou (Cyprus), Maria Maximenko (Ukraine), Veronika Maximenko (Ukraine)
The discussion is moderated by: Maria Kramvi (Larnaka 2030), Salome Paraskeva (Larnaca Cultural Foundation for Children and Youth)

13:00 - 14:00 | LUNCH & NETWORKING

14:00 - 15:00 | KEY NOTE PRESENTATION: Music As A Safe Space
Speaker: Fabienne Van Eck (Musicians without Borders)

15:00 - 16:00 | PARALLEL WORKSHOPS

● Implementing Safety, Creativity, and Inclusion
For Educators, Professionals working with children and Young People
Facilitator: Fabienne Van Eck (Musicians Without Borders)

The workshop begins with presenting the five principles of Musicians Without Borders — Safety, Inclusion, Creativity, Equality, and Quality. Participants are guided on how to apply these values when working with children. The workshop continues with the "Heart" session, where Fabienne Van Eck analyses how trauma and music affect the nervous system, presenting five basic ways of regulating it. The workshop includes musical activities suitable for children, such as singing, body percussion, rhythmic sticks, and movement exercises using everyday materials. The final section of the workshop includes “Paper Orchestra”, a fun, inclusive activity that uses only A4 paper to create sound, leadership exercises, mirroring, rhythm circles and participatory art through music, techniques that can be used in our work with different groups of the population, including children with sensory and neurodevelopmental disabilities.

● Breaking the chains of prejudice
For Parents and Children 10+
Facilitator: Dr Vasiliki Christodoulou (UCLan Cyprus)
This experiential workshop is designed to address biases and stereotypical beliefs through the lens of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Using experiential exercises, we explore how emotional needs affect thought processes, often leading to biases or intrusive thoughts that conflict with our deepest values. The goal is to help parents and children recognize these internal conflicts and promote a deeper understanding of how emotional awareness can guide behavior toward more behavioral and personal values-based actions. Through experiential exercises, participants learn strategies that help them reconnect their actions to deeper values, promoting empathy and understanding in relationships.

● The Refuge
For Children, Parents, Artists
Facilitators: Christos Drakos, Eirini Constantinou, Kyriacos Costi (Larnaca Cultural Foundation for Children and Youth), Leda Solomonidou (Youth Makerspace Larnaka), Zoya Kernasovska (Obiimy Cyprus)
An artistic interactive intervention at Larnaka’s Municipal Park. An open dialogue between artists and the general public asking: “What is refuge?”, “What small daily habits make us feel safe? Is it being in good company, at open public spaces? Is it an object, a space, or a practice that we share among loved ones?”. Visual artists address these questions to document the “Book of Refuge”. Based on the real stories that unfolded during the conference, they construct the Book, inviting parents and children to freely contribute their own stories and experiences to the installation.

16:00 - 16:30 | CLOSING REMARKS & FUTURE DIRECTIONS

16:30 - 17:00 | CLOSING CEREMONY
Participating musicians: Ukrainian Spivanky choir, Victoria Havryk (piano)

📝 REGISTER: www.eventora.com/en/Events/book-refuge (open until 7 November 2024)
🗣️ The Conference will be held in English. Live adaptation in Greek will be provided, if necessary.
♿ The Conference is open for participants with physical and hearing disabilities.

‼️ After the Conference, the performance "Use your Brain" will be presented at Larnaka Municipality Theatre at 18:00, performed by Ahmad Jubeh of the National Theatre of Palestine. Information and tickets: https://bit.ly/3YC96aA
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🔹 Fabienne Van Eck
Fabienne teaches the cello since 2008 at the Magnificat Music Institute in the Old City of Jerusalem and is currently also teaching at the Edward Said National Conservatory. She was the Artistic Director of Sounds of Palestine for six years, taught music education at the Bethlehem University and is the Regional Program Manager Middle East and Senior Trainer of Musicians Without Borders for more than 15 years. She gives training and music workshops in refugee camps, isolated villages and hospitals, and worked with HIV+ children and women and orphans in Rwanda and Uganda.
🔹 Musicians Without Borders
Musicians Without Borders has been using the power of music for 25 years for peace building and social change and to promote an inclusive, just society. In collaboration with local musicians and organizations, they bring music to people and places affected by war, armed conflict, and displacement. Their programs use music to empower, create connection, heal and strengthen empathy. From Palestine and Jordan to Rwanda and the DRC and from the Western Balkans to refugee centers in the Netherlands: War Divides, Music Connects!

🤝 The Conference is organised by the Cultural Foundation for Children and Youth, in collaboration with Larnaka 2030 and: Musicians Without Borders, Youth Makespace Larnaka, Hope for Children, UCLan Cyprus.

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