In August 2015 TCFT went to Srebrenica in partnership with 12 European organisations and a 120 people from the ages of 15 - 65, participants, artists and facilitators.
The following film tells the story.
Film by Robert Golden
Robert Golden has been a photographer since his teens. Originally from Detroit, USA, he came to the UK to study at the London Film School and soon after came to live in England permanently. His award winning career includes advertising and editorial photography, commercials, feature films including writing film scripts and now documentaries. He has worked closely with Tina Ellen Lee and Opera Circus throughout the life of the company recording each stage of the development of the work, both in chamber opera and their international youth programmes. Robert's student days included his involvement in the US in the Civil Rights and Anti-Vietnam War movements.
Summary of Project
The Complete Freedom of Truth (TCFT) is an international 3 year youth led project with the ambition to develop global youth citizenship through culture and the arts. TCFT aims to use cultural and arts activities to provide skills training and cultural awareness for young people across Europe by developing their own creativity. Tolerance, inclusiveness, deeper learning and an understanding of the other are at the heart of this creative process. It seeks to foster understanding between people from different European countries, transcend language barriers and facilitate the space in which to create emancipatory change through the use of culture and the arts.
Some of the participants and organising team of TCFT's Visegrad chapter in 2015 (taken by Julia Brown, TCFT 2015 participant)
Seeking to integrate and develop an awareness between otherwise disconnected young people across Europe, TCFT has developed a two-week summer programme where young people come together to discuss social and cultural issues that affect their lives, beginning in Bosnia, August 2015. It aims to develop conversations and activism around issues of democracy and European citizenship. At the heart of TCFT is inclusion and the accessibility of the arts to people of all backgrounds, regardless of disabilities, gender, race or class. It seeks to destroy processes of ‘othering ’and works to encourage a vison of an equal, inclusive and truly democratic European society. The creative workshops and discussion groups are facilitated by both experienced practitioners and young people and the programme is youth led. 100 young people representing 8 different member states of Europe decide the nature of the discussion groups, the main issues which they wish to be represented, and the creative workshops available, ranging from parkour to poetry.
TCFT is passionate about youth agency, and wants to catalyse the growth of young people into the future cultural and social change makers of Europe. Not restricted to the summer programme, longer term youth led creative projects addressing issues such as the European refugee crisis and the representation of minority LGBT groups in Bosnia and elsewhere in Europe are projects run on a voluntary, developed from TCFT 2015 summer programme. These projects share practical examples of ways in which to respond creatively to challenges within your own communities with other young people across Europe.
TCFT seeks to create a living connected community of young people from across Europe who are passionate about positive social change within their communities and Europe as a whole.
Words by Amy Wisenfeld
The Book
'THE BOOK' is a participant-led journal of memories, ideas, thoughts and experiences that have taken place during TCFT's summer residencies.
Take a look at the journal of 2015.