Social Projects
Do you work to build a more inclusive and equitable city ?! We too!
Culture and sports is a wonderful combination, and in addition, Cirkus Unik has developed various services to reach those who need us most or the city’s most vulnerable children. We have five different concepts that we offer. Feel free to contact us and we will adapt the concept to your business!
Circus with "fritids"
Cirkus Unik wants to help make Gothenburg a slightly more equal city. Children from vulnerable areas do not have access to recreational activities for various reasons. See below our survey report on availability of leisure activities in ten different areas of Gothenburg.
In schools, we offer the circus as a meaningful activity that increases children’s self-esteem and group belonging. Circus is a mix of culture and sport that has effective results on both physical and mental health. It enables a Unique and personal treatment of every child where we pay attention to their constant development and help them to constantly challenge themselves, each at their own pace.
We have developed our own method for measuring the group’s development in Respect, Concentration, Self-esteem, Collaboration and Equality – The Value Wheel.
We are currently seeking funding for these groups.
Meeting place
Gothenburg is a fantastic and unique city with incredible cultural diversity, which is used poorly. When it is difficult for people to meet, understanding decreases and prejudice increases. That’s exactly what Cirkus Unik wants to counteract in different ways.
Our method is based on creating a platform where children and parents from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds can meet. Cirkus Unik teaches children both in the suburbs and downtown. We believe that integration is not just about including the children from the suburbs to the center, but also to include the children from the center with “their whole” city.
CIRCUS FOR MENTAL HEALTH
Our performances always have important and relevant messages for children and young people and want to inspire them to dare to be themselves and dream.
Cirkus Unik is now creating a new exciting performance that will be shown in middle schools selected in consultation with the Student Health Team in Gothenburg and the Västra Götaland region.
The theater, music and circus performance, Monster, is about a boy who struggles with his unconscious feelings and thoughts and low self-esteem. During the performance, he discovers that he can begin to control both thoughts and emotions.
Two artists on stage, an exciting innovative structure with a rope and a new aerial acrobatics act give a new aesthetic expression to the performance.
The show is interactive and the children can express their reflections on the show and have the opportunity to think about their own “monsters”.
Follow-up with students takes place in groups and individually with expression in poetry, image or sculpture in close collaboration with the Student Health Team and teachers.
Functional Variations
Cirkus Unik works in a Gothenburg school with children with functional variations. We have seen the children make tremendous progress in just a few lessons with increased self-esteem and better group collaboration as a result and both school management and parents are asking for continued cooperation.
These children find it very difficult to attend regular sports education. Complicated rules and lengthy reviews are difficult and do not often lead to feelings of exclusion and to conflicts. Contemporary circus for them means a new and freer training. Contemporary circus with its universal language means a great relief for children with language difficulties.
In the circus you do not compete with others; each child develops at his own pace with joy and with just himself as a yardstick. All children are unique!
Competence Development with Kulturskolan
One project under development is Competence Development, a pedagogical complementary education program in 2021 and 2022 for dance-, drama-and circus educators within the Kulturskolan in the Västra Götaland region. Mapping to choose municipalities, see picture.
The idea for the project started after Kulturskolan expressed a desire to take part in our pedagogy and methodology to use in their own activities.
Our inclusive circus pedagogy increases children’s self-esteem and group belonging and has effective results on both physical and mental health. With our complementary education program, we look forward to recruiting new ambassadors for our pedagogy and in this way reach even more children in Gothenburg and in the region.
Through theory and workshops on three occasions during a semester Cirkus Unik wants to offer inspiration, tools and reflections to contribute to pedagogical development. Our workshop is led by some of Cirkus Unik’s educators / artists.
Skills development is a three-year project (2020-22) funded by the Västra Götaland region, Cultural Strategic Development Support (KSU) which aims to increase knowledge within circus in the region.
Partners
Kulturrådet- the Culture Council
Västra Götaland Region
the Gothenburg Opera
Kulturskolan
Jämlikt Göteborg
World Culture Museum
