SO.ART, Social and Participatory Arts for Youth Community Building, explores how participatory arts, in particular music, dance and theatre, can become an accessible and transformative toolbox for community building, inclusion and youth participation, with particular attention to contexts where social isolation, polarisation, and marginalisation reduce young people's opportunities to connect, cooperate and be heard.


About the Project

The project builds on the experience gained through "Sync In! Cooperative Music for Inclusive Youth Participation" and "SIN(G)ERGY, Supporting Inclusion, Networking and Groupwork through Community Music", respectively a youth exchange and a training course. Starting from these foundations, the organisation has chosen to broaden its exploration of participatory arts beyond community music, integrating participatory dance and social theatre as additional pathways for community building and inclusive group processes.

What You Will Do

The days combine experiential workshops in the three artistic fields with sessions of analysis, peer learning, methodological transfer and facilitation practice led by the participants themselves.

🎶 Community Music: circle singing, collaborative vocal improvisation, body and circular music, social choir practices, embodied tools for listening, cooperation, co-creation and belonging

🎭 Social and Community Theatre: physical theatre, improvisation and dramaturgical tools to explore roles, narratives and power dynamics in a non-judgemental, participatory way, with attention to inclusion and facilitation ethics

💃 Creative Movement and Dance Movement Therapy-oriented practice: body awareness, presence, boundaries, trust and non-verbal communication as a foundation for safe, inclusive group facilitation

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 A field-based experimental session with a real youth group at a Youth Community Centre (CAG) in the Municipality of Ivrea, co-designed and delivered by participants together with local educators

Learning Objectives and European Network

The training aims to equip youth workers with methods and sensibilities that can be transferred into their local practice. Participants will be supported in strengthening their capacity to facilitate inclusive group processes through arts-based non-formal education and to build safe and participatory spaces that foster cooperation, mutual recognition and active citizenship. The project will also nurture a peer network of practitioners who can exchange practices, support each other in implementation, and potentially co-develop future initiatives.

Eligible Countries

This training course is open to participants from:

🇮🇹 Italy

🇫🇷 France

🇵🇱 Poland

🇪🇸 Spain

🇨🇿 Czechia

🇱🇹 Lithuania

🇬🇷 Greece

🇸🇪 Sweden

🇷🇸 Serbia

Who Can Apply

We are looking for 24 participants who are 18 years or older and work, or aim to work, with young people and young adults in community, school or non-formal settings. Ideal participants are interested in integrating Community Music, Social Theatre and Creative Movement as tools for cohesion, cooperation and relational safety, motivated to work on group dynamics in heterogeneous contexts where linguistic, cultural or relational barriers may emerge, available for the entire duration of the activity from 12 to 20 October 2026 including travel days, and willing to take an active role in facilitation practice and in the co-design of the final outputs. Participants also commit to disseminating the methodology and outputs within their own organisation after the training. No previous artistic experience is required. Selection will also aim at a balanced group in terms of experience levels, gender, age and country representation, with priority given to candidates with fewer opportunities for international mobility.

📖 Also open now: Erasmus+ Partnership-building Activity in 🇮🇹 Italy 📖 Storytelling & Ancient Myths in Sicily → https://youthworkshub.org/21823

Dates, Venue, Accommodation and Meals

📅 Dates: 13 to 19 October 2026 (7-day residential training course)

🛬 Arrival: 12 October 2026, departure: 20 October 2026, to allow time for international travel

📍 Venue: Sala della Musica, ex Società Operaia, Alice Superiore, Municipality of Val di Chy (Valchiusella), Piedmont, Italy

Activities will take place in Val di Chy (Valchiusella), combining indoor and outdoor spaces. The main venue is the Sala della Musica, in the former Società Operaia in Alice Superiore, a rural community space, and when appropriate some sessions will take place outdoors in natural settings along nearby paths. Accommodation is planned in a community-run rural hostel close to the activity venues, with participants and facilitators hosted in shared rooms. Meals provided during the project will be prepared by a local social project and will be entirely vegan (plant-based), in line with the association's ethical and sustainability values. Small local shops are available nearby for personal needs. Because the programme is residential and intensive, participants are required to be present for the entire duration, and requests for partial attendance cannot be accommodated. A pick-up bus service will be organised from Ivrea train station to transport participants to the accommodation.

Hosting organisation: AUDRA APS (Italy). Facilitation team: Giulia Attanasio (AUDRA APS, Terra dei Canti, Community Music and collaborative singing), Viola Zangirolami (Teatro Popolare Europeo, SCT Centre, Social and Community Theatre) and Simona Capuano (L'Albero delle Danze, Creative Movement and Dance Movement Therapy).


What Is Covered

Travel, accommodation, meals and activities are fully covered by the Erasmus+ Programme according to the approved budget. No participation fee is requested.

How to Apply

Application deadline: 30 August 2026. Complete the online application form.

📝 Application form: https://forms.gle/4uJC5Ni4PtPGUQGA6

ℹ️ Infopack: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qbfw75cwR1ulKgWkoxSL09hxTOz84PsQ/view

For questions, contact Giulia Attanasio (giulia@audra.it), logistics via Davide Giachino (dm.giachino@gmail.com), or info@audra.it.

🎭 You might also like: Erasmus+ Training Course in 🇳🇱 the Netherlands 🎭 Building Confidence and Adaptability for Emerging Youth Workers → https://youthworkshub.org/21653