UKRAINIAN TEAM

Improvisation in Educational Process during Blackout

In order to implement the knowledge and skills gained during the 7-day PIMPRO training, we decided to hold a workshop for students of the local community at Vinnytsia National Agrarian University. First, students were introduced to the basics of improvisation and then encouraged to create their mini-projects using the improvisation method.

The topic of the projects is surprisingly relevant to everyday reality in Ukraine: the organization of the educational process in conditions of electricity deficiency. Firstly, students were divided into small groups and given time for brainstorming to express all the ideas on how one can creatively adapt to electricity shortage. After compiling a list of the most acceptable ideas, the students had to prepare creative solutions and teaching methods that apply during blackouts. To boost the participants' creativity, they were asked to present their findings creatively - to play a short theatrical sketch. Notably, the circumstances under which the workshop was held were as realistic as possible: before the workshop, students were asked to hand over their mobile phones, and at that time there was no electricity in the university.

Our workshop motivated students to think creatively and contributed to the development of soft skills, in particular communication and stress management skills. The basics of improvisation, which we provided to students during our workshop, will be useful for them during the defence of scientific papers, and reporting at seminars and scientific conferences, as they will overcome anxiety and shyness in front of an audience, and feel more confident during public speaking.

Links to the posts on social media:

PARTICIPANTS' IMPRESSIONS FROM THE PROJECT:

Natalia Pryshliak:

"It has been a week since I returned from an extremely interesting and informative Erasmus+ training "Power of IMPROvisation". This time the topic was improvisation, public speaking, performance art on stage, and social entrepreneurship. The training combined all the best that can be imagined: 38 mega-positive and active participants from 10 countries, talented trainers, and bright and hospitable Cyprus.

During the week we had the opportunity to practice many interesting activities, among which the most memorable was the performance on the stage of the amphitheatre which is more than 2000 years old. The location for the training was incredibly successful, which allowed us to jog to the sea in the morning before classes, meditate, enjoy the sunset to the sound of the waves of the Mediterranean Sea and even harvest tangerines and lemons!

For those who have never participated in Erasmus+ trainings and want to learn more, I will be happy to tell you more! Special thanks to the NGO On the Wings of Art for giving me the opportunity to become part of the team and represent Ukraine at the training for the second time".

Elisa Kravchenko:

"An unforgettable week in Cyprus together with young people from 8 countries flew by, so it's time to share our impressions! Experienced trainers, interesting activities, many new acquaintances and sunny Cyprus made this project special. I am very grateful to everyone who made this training course possible. It was also important to talk about the struggle of the Ukrainian people and hear words of support from participants from different countries.

Together we explored theatrical improvisation as a tool for non-formal education for social entrepreneurs. The first part of the project was dedicated to the theatre: we learned about the types and features of improvisation, tried to stage small scenes and eventually showed our mini-performances in the ancient Greek theatre Kurion!

Having mastered the art of acting a little, we started the second thematic part of the project - social entrepreneurship. Knowledgeable trainers helped us to develop entrepreneurial traits and find innovative approaches. Each team shared examples of the most successful social commercial projects from their countries.

Thank you all for a wonderful time together, new knowledge and acquaintances".

Anna-Mariia Tuz:

"In the period from 26.11.2022 to 04.12.2022, I participated in an incredibly interesting and informative project called "Power of Improvisation".

The project concerned the use of improvisation in various spheres of public life, primarily in social entrepreneurship.

We listened to various lectures, participated in interesting workshops, and activities, went on excursions and even created and sold our own company!

The event itself was held in Pissouri, on the seashore, which added to the atmosphere of lightness and enjoyment of the process.

Our colleagues were participants from Croatia, Poland, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and other countries, with whom we exchanged our ideas, and thoughts and learned to interact together!

The organization of the project was at the highest level, everything was thought out and well organized.

I am incredibly grateful to "On the wings of art" for the opportunity to take part in such a cool project, to represent Ukraine at the international level, and to enrich myself with new experiences and unforgettable emotions" ❤️

Hanna Savelieva:

"I have recently returned from a super training "PIMPRO - the Power of Improvisation" in Cyprus, which I went to from the public organization "On the Wings of Art" and I am pleased to share my impressions of participating in this super event.

I want to start with the fact that the very participation in this training was a real gift for me on the Independence Day of Ukraine because on August 24 I received a confirmation of my participation in "PIMPRO" by email and literally jumped for joy, saying that now I will love this holiday even more, which was already one of my favourites.

The training course "The Power of Improvistion" was held in the sunny village of Pissouri, the warm Mediterranean climate and charming nature contributed to a complete reboot and relaxation and inspired fruitful work, so we were able to focus on workshops and exercises. The workshops and exercises themselves were very diverse, but all without exception extremely creative! Most of the exercises involved working in groups, sometimes in pairs, within a certain time we had to come up with something of our own and interesting to the audience and not just tell about it, but also skillfully play on an improvised stage, thus learning the art of improvisation. The inspirational workshops of the trainers from the host organization helped us to master body language and stage articulation, which is extremely necessary for acting, to get rid of shyness in front of the audience, and most importantly - to sincerely express our emotions, communicate effectively and interact with each other. The real highlight of the training was a trip to the Pissouri Amphitheater, where we not only enjoyed this majestic monument of ancient architecture and took beautiful photos, but also really played as actors in short theatrical scenes. On the same day, we had another unforgettable adventure - a trip to Limassol - a colourful city on the Mediterranean coast.

Of course, I would like to say a few words about our cultural evenings, where we learned a lot of new and interesting things about other countries and talked about the culture and traditions of Ukraine and how our native country is now fighting for its freedom and independence. By the way, it so happened that we held the Ukrainian cultural evening on December 1, the 31st anniversary of the All-Ukrainian referendum on the independence of Ukraine.

It is worth noting the very cool organization of the training, thanks to which the training was easy and interesting, the classes were often held outside in the middle of the flowering garden of the hotel where we lived and were filled with outdoor activities, so even after busy days we almost never got tired and definitely never got bored! Important, in my opinion, was the general emphasis on local actions and acquaintance with the local culture - in one of the tasks we had to communicate with local residents, ask about interesting places and historical sights of the village of Pissouri, in addition, one of the activities was conducted for us by guest trainers - local social entrepreneurs.

For me, as a teacher, this training was useful in all senses - both in professional and personal development, because I took into account several game exercises and team-building activities that I plan to use in my teaching. And as a geography teacher, it was very valuable for me to discover a new country and its culture, and to take pictures of the picturesque corners of the nature of Cyprus, which I will be happy to show to my students in my geography lessons when studying the nature and climate of the Mediterranean.

My achievements in the project are a new life experience, new friends from different countries, useful knowledge and skills, 1000+ photos in the phone gallery and even more unforgettable memories, as well as inspiration to continue to learn and improve and become better today than yesterday"!