From April 10 to 13, the first Future Production of the project JuBReg - Jugend bewegt Region Region bewegt Jugend/Youth Vision Action took place at the Kulturfabrik Hoyerswerda. The aim of the three planned Future Productions is to give young people from Poland, Czechia and Germany space to engage in depth with topics such as regional identity, structural change and social participation, as well as to prepare the YVA Festival together. The artistic results of the previous productions will be presented at the festival as part of the city festival in Hoyerswerda. 

Master's student Annemarie Grünert shares her impressions of the first event in the Future Production series:

During the first production, the young people enjoyed a varied and methodologically diverse program. It began with creative warm-ups involving music and movement. In artistic and reflective workshops, the participants explored their personal relationship with art, their visions for the future and their role and influence in their own region. One focus was on the topic of structural change. In an exciting presentation by Prof. Raj Kollmorgen from the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, the young people discussed social changes, future opportunities and concrete possibilities for participation. They then worked in transnational groups to develop participation strategies for their home regions—an important step, as many reported having had little experience of effective co-determination to date.

A special component of Future Productions is the collaboration with students from the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. A seminar group from the fourth semester of the Bachelor's degree program in Social Work attended the first event. The students provided methodological and artistic support to the young people, developed their own workshop stations and invited them to discuss educational paths, life plans and social engagement. They saw themselves as supportive voices for the young people and wanted to bring their concerns to the region.

The participants were then given a preview of the planned festival, which will take place as part of the Hoyerswerda City Festival. During a tour of the city, the group explored the event site and visited locations where previous youth participation projects had taken place. Finally, the young people viewed artwork from past Future Camps to decide which contributions should be included in the festival program.

The first Future Production was a successful start full of creativity, exchange and commitment. The young people were encouraged to make their ideas visible and to actively participate in shaping their region. There is great anticipation for the festival in September—so be sure to keep the second weekend in September free.