Report Posted 02/03/2020

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"The Departure" blended mobility was held in Massafra (Italy) from 22nd to 26th February 2020. It was organized thanks to the participation of the 7 Erasmus+ KA204 I-TALES project partners: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain and the Italian learners, a group of local young people and migrants/refugees living in Massafra.

In the virtual mobility each partner organized labs with local learners, exchanges of ideas, proposals and collaborations were activated to continue the work during physical mobility in Massafra when more than 50 participants participated in three workshops: "Suspended Roots" visual art workshop; “ Suspended Roots” performative art workshop (body expression) and "Vocal and instrumental music". 

During the workshops the participants "blended" by working together, so giving the mobility its deepest meaning/goal, a communion of people different in linguistic and cultural identity who share and spread common values: dialogue, mutual understanding, intercultural integration, refuse of hate speech and racist attitudes, will to live in Europe that doesn't build walls, but opens its doors.

The final event had at its core “Suspended Roots” a physical theatre performance acted out by the international group of the partner teams who participated in the  workshops held in the previous days.  It also included each partner’s contribution to the topic – music, narrations, theatre …-  The event was opened by a fragment from the book "La frontiera" by the Italian writer Alessandro Leogrande, translated into English. His words gave voice to our intentions while working on "The Departure"  

“We must listen to the voice of those who have crossed borders if we want to understand how cities and rivers are made,  the walls and their guardians, prisons and their keepers.  How boats are made, how sea waves are made, how the darkness of night is made.  How lights that come  in the dark are made. The earth and sky of before don’t exist anymore : on this side there is the world of before;  on that side the one yet to come ... “