From the 24th to the 30th of October 2017, 8 young people from Montpellier, aged 16 to 24, traveled to Heidelberg in Germany, where they’ve been welcomed by the Werkstattschule, for an artistic and intercultural project financed by the OFAJ/DFJW (Franco-German Youth Office).

The aim of the project was to give the opportunity to the participants to discover new artistic practices and to discover the German culture.

Most of the activities were related to the creation of sculptures: each participant realized his/her own sculpture during morning workshops led by Jörg Windmann, artist and youth worker from the Werkstattschule. Made out of concrete, wood or stone, the sculptures will be placed all along the way leading to the main entrance of the Werkstattschule.

Socio-linguistics workshops have also been carried out during the entire project. Through games and non-formal activities organized by Tatiana (youth worker in i.PEICC) and Adrien (French EVS hosted in Werkstattschule), the participants learnt basic German vocabulary and understood that not knowing a language is not an insurmountable barrier in communication.

Cultural visits were also organized during the week. The group had the chance to visit Heidelberg, its castle and also its famous student’s prison. They discovered as well the city of Mannheim and visited there the Wilhelm Hack Museum.

“The discovery of the Werkstattschule was the most beautiful surprise! Jörg is super cool and what he taught me will be very useful in the future. It allowed me to question my passion and to improve my skills. Participants were very united: the week was full of laugh and happiness. I have absolutely no regret and I hope I will have the possibility to come back to Heidelberg one day!” Kévin

“When I arrived in Heidelberg, I was pleasantly surprised by the landscapes. During the week, I learnt a few words in German, I improved a lot my English skills and I learnt so much about art!” Fatima