PRESS RELEASE - YOU AND I ARE WE

3. December 2009.

We aren’t the same – but we are still alike. You are you. I am I. If we were together, we could be the world.

Secondary-school children, who are Albanians, Serbs and Roma from Bujanovac and Presevo, are the authors of and actors/actresses in a theater performance “You and I are We”. The premiere of the said theater performance is taking place at the Community Center in Bujanovac at 5pm on December 2, 2009. Fourteen persons have written the text of the performance, which deals with their lives and in which they presented their attitudes. The schoolchildren perform the play in their own languages, as well as in English. This exceptional workshop for actors/actresses is funded by the Coordination Body of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja.

“You and I are We“isan educational and art project, which was designed asa series of creative workshops resulting in a play. After doing an audition, the selected secondary-school students had an opportunity to work with artists and lecturers from Belgrade, Valjevo, Novi Sad and Sombor. After following a two-month program, which was made up of continuous rehearsals, workshops, seminars and training courses in dramatic skills, the students will firstly perform the play in Bujanovac, and then in Belgrade. Apart from having a chance to acquire basic education about theater, the students, through this project, gained the experience of working and studying together with children of their own age who are from other ethnic groups. That is why “You and I are We” is an educational program that makes it possible for program beneficiaries to develop understanding and tolerance towards other cultures through games and associating with other students. The project was conceived and is run by the “Trust Me” agency from Valjevo. This is one of the nine projects that the Coordination Body, after its two open competitions, decided to fund this year.