Please read this carefully.
If possible make a copy to take on your journey and read again. You will make the lives of everyone helping to run TCFT very much easier if you remember at least some of this.
If you are a participant please share this information with your parent or guardian.
International Travel
• If you are travelling on the 30th or the 31st March you should by now have your flight booked and you will have been sent your ticket by email. Please check you have it.
•Please remember to check-in on line before you travel otherwise you may be charged extra money at the airport. (Those travelling from London Gatwick with Easyjet will receive their boarding pass from Rory)
• The date of TCFT was moved by one day because the costs of the flights on the day we had planned were incredibly expensive because of Easter, therefore the majority of us are arriving on the 30th and some on the 31st. Diverse City arrive on the 6th, as well as a few others.
•You will probably be met by a mini bus or coach or you will be asked to take a train. This is all being organised at the moment and we will let you have all the information next week.
• There is a weight limit for the luggage of people travelling by plane. Please check the website of their airline you're travelling on, or you can ask Rory about this. We are unable to pay for any fines that you may incur, so please be careful.
European Health Insurance Card (EU) & Insurance
• We have suggested to everyone that they apply for the EU Health Insurance Card (EHIC). It is easy to find on line and free. This ensures that EU citizens receive the same level of health care in Italy as an citizen would receive. This is only available to citizens of Portugal, Romania & the United Kingdom.
• The project is insured by Opera Circus Limited for public and employer’s liability to €10,000,000 in case of accident. This covers everyone involved in the project whether participating or a member of the public involved in some way. A copy of the insurance document can be sent to anyone who needs it.
Safeguarding
• All our policies are in place and updated Equality, Environment and Child Protection.
• For those who need to know; all the UK facilitators are DBS checked.
Insurance
• We do not insure you for personal possessions so if you want to ensure these please purchase this yourselves.
Before You Travel: Find out more about Sarteano, Tuscany and Italy
• There is information about Sarteano and this region of Italy on the web site but please do a bit of research so you know something of the history, people and culture.
• Learn a few phrases in Italian. The young Italian logistics team are putting together a welcome pack with lots of information including some useful Italian words and a map which will also be on line.
• The people of Sarteano are being the most generous and wonderful of hosts. We are using a mixture of accommodation. It is a small town with only so many beds so we are delighted that they have found ways to look after us, an hotel, some apartments, a couple of small houses, staying with friends and family. Wherever you are I know you will absolutely respect this very special community in every way. Tina has suggested who shares with whom and who goes into which accommodation. We know that this sometimes doesn’t work out and if you want to talk about where you are staying please speak directly with Tina about it.
The Food
• Breakfast: We will be having breakfast together every morning in the "Il bosco di Giano Auser" an association for the active participation of elderly people. They have generously let us use their kitchen’s so we can make our own breakfasts together . They also might be providing us cakes as well as offering to teach us how to make home made pasta.
• Produce and ingredients are being provided by the Local Coop and local Artisanal shops and patisseries. The space is too small for all of us to eat in one go so there will be three morning sittings. We will all take turns in making breakfast for everyone else, I know some people love doing this, and washing up and making sure their centre is kept clean.
• Lunch and Dinner. We will be eating in restaurants across the town. You will be given a group to eat with. Please respect this. We were all aware that certain participants last year stuck to their own country group and this is not why we all come together.
• If you want a glass of wine or beer with your meal, please pay individually and at the end of every meal. (Only for those over 18)
• Because of logistics reasons it is impossible for people with special diets to change group or restaurant while it is possible for omnivorous people to do so after contacting the Italian production team. However, the menu will be mostly the same for everyone.
IF YOU HAVE NOT LET US KNOW OF ANY DIETARY REQUIREMENTS YOU MAY HAVE, PLEASE CONTACT RORY@THECOMPLETEFREEDOMOFTRUTH.COM
The Weather
• The weather forecast is some rain and some sun so please bring appropriate clothes. We will check the weather the week we are leaving and give everyone an update. Also shoes you can walk in and comfortable workshop clothes.
Accommodation & Pastoral Care
• There is a laundry next door to the main hotel that some people are staying at.
• Remember to bring any medication you need and let us know of any medical conditions that you think we should be aware of (either via the registration form, or by getting in touch).
• Pastoral care. There will be a list of people you can go and talk to if you have anything you want to discuss privately. This will include Rosie, Tina, Darren, Susan etc., and the names will be in your pack when you arrive.
• There will be an emergency number available at all times for you to call and provided in your pack on arrival.
Wifi
• The people of Sarteano are doing all they can to make sure it is available somewhere. All the shops and restaurants are putting their wifi details in their windows, some of the apartments and houses will have it and some of the buildings we are working in, like the theatre.
Please be careful about the amount of data you use when connected to Wifi. Once all TCFT arrives, there will be 100+ people attempting to connect to a limited number of Hotspots, try not to download with a huge amount of memory.
THIS TCFT – MOVING ON
Just to be clear, this is not the end of TCFT. This is the end of this phase which has been part funded by an EU Erasmus + grant, helping us to deliver the residencies in Srebrenica and Bournemouth and now Sarteano.
When we designed this phase in 2014 and applied for the funding we had no idea that we would achieve so much and reach so far.
We are now applying for some further Erasmus funding to give some space to see where we go next. If we are successful there will be funds to help develop the youth leaders further, to make smaller meetings and exchanges for a period of 18 months. This we hope will help us all participate in deciding what the future of TCFT is, what it might become.
SARTEANO
This town and region is providing us with many opportunities to take part in some different experiences.
The schedule will be slightly different from the previous years as we are not rushing towards a final day of performances.
The First Few Days
From 30/31 March to the 4th April there will be workshops, time to create and evening pop-up events. If you'd like to produce or create an event, we'll let you know the right person to approach when we introduce everybody at the beginning.
On the evening of the 31st Laura Fatini and her youth theatre company will present a new play to welcome us all to Sarteano.
Visiting organisations
On the 5th and 6th April participants who have chosen to go and visit some of the other organisations will travel, some staying overnight. Others who wish to carry on creating can do so. You will have got some idea from the registration form in particular the visits to the different organisations; Rondine, Teatro Povero, Aboca etc.,
Making Sarteano A Fully Accessible Town
On the afternoon of the 6th April some of us will work with Maria Fossatti and Culturing on a devised game to find out just how accessible or not the town is for people in wheelchairs, other disabilities and even pushchairs and prams. We hope to provide the Mayor with a project proposal a the end of this residency to make Sarteano the first fully accessible small historic town in Italy. That’s the plan anyway.
Visit from Glyndebourne Youth Opera
On the 7th April, Laura and Lewis will be with us from Glyndebourne Youth Opera. They will do a work in progress event of some kind this evening.
Performances
There will be a weekend of performances, the 8th for youth led facilitation, community engagement, some devised performances, music and we hope a rock concert in the evening by local band Parrock.
On the 9th April there will be a performance up at the castle which will be partly made up of partner’s and artists work already rehearsed prior to Italy and some of our newly devised work.
We want to celebrate and thank the community of Sarteano with the best celebration that we and our artists, of all ages, can offer.
The Youth Forum
The Youth Forum will be held on the 10th and 11th. The first day at the Abbazia di Spineto and on the second day at the High School in Montepulciano.
Abraham Baldry, Amy Wisenfeld, Francesco Piparelli and Rory Newbery have all been working on this since the weekend discussion in Bridport.
We are going write to everyone who was at the meeting on Sunday 19th February with a format for these two days taken from the minuted reports that were delivered by Rory, Abe, Avril and Billy and notes from Nina and Lora. Geraldine Sharpe Newton is our mentor and consultant on this process and will be with us from the 9th – 12th April.
There will be lots of opportunity for creative workshops and learning new skills. There will be afternoon conversations, in Bournemouth these were TCFTteas in Italy they are called
Passeggiate
Walks and Talks (the italian version of TCFT Teas)
TCFT Passeggiate is an opportunity for anybody joining us in sarteano to share their experiences, a particular story or project and pretty much anything else that we can all learn from.
Alex Gichohi | Alex will talk about his new charity he has set up to build a school in his village in Kenya.
Rondine | This is a peace organisation based a few hours away from Sarteano, bringing together young people from areas of conflict around the world to devise community projects and peace-building initiatives.
Marko Stankovic & Irina Ganescu | Marko & Irina will talk about the work that is happening in Srebrenica led by young people.
Is there anything you would like to talk about? Let us know and we can book a slot.
Spaces, Artists, etc.,
We have a lot of good spaces in which to work and if the weather is good even outdoors.
We will give each art form the most suitable available.
If you want to do some of your own creative work and want to collaborate with someone and need a space there will be someone responsible for you to go to and book the space, artists etc.,