ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I describe the process of co-creation and experiences with the interactive experiential theatre play entitled Through the Refugee’s Eyes which emerged in response to the inhumane asylum policy of “fortress Europe,” and the much too often unlawful treatment of people fleeing war, persecution, or poverty. The idea of this special play was born in the beginning of 2015, a year before our country became a (razor)fenced-in island in the middle of Europe, flooded by (new) waves of hate speech and intolerance. As a tool for confronting prejudices and intolerance, the play was co-created with people with real-life experience of being refugees, who at the same time processed their own traumas, built personal social networks and promoted intercultural dialogue. In the play, the unsuspecting participants have to step into the refugee shoes on their way to the “promised” Europe. Each with his new personal “ID” and his new life story. A very special element of this experiential play is a moderated discussion at the end, where the participants meet the true persons behind their life stories, which is one of the strongest and most emotional elements of the whole theatre experience. I also present the views of our collaborators with real refugee experience as well as opinions of the teachers who took part in the play and tested it with their pupils. The success of this methodology was mentioned in the Global Education Innovation Award Brochure 2017 of the Global Education Network Europe GENE and in the Compendium of good practices on Education for Sustainable Lifestyles by Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences in 2018.
