History of EYCO

Last Updated on Wednesday, 28 July 2010 09:00

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The longer history of EYCO dates back to 1999 were a small group of people wanted a European circus union. A more recent history of EYCO dates back to the very first N.I.C.E.-meeting in 2005 were some people started talking about a formal organisation. During later N.I.C.E meetings, Tampere, Finland (October 2007) and a meeting in Lille (july 2008) the ideas started to become plans. The discussions of those meetings culminated in the start of a working group 'Umbrella of umbrella's". As proposed by the working group the N.I.C.E participants of The Amsterdam (2009) participants decided to build a formal organisation. At that time the working group consisted of Karl Köckenberger (Germany), Alain Taillard (France), Camille Poiraud (France), Francois Henrard (Belgium), Peter Smets (Belgium), Piia Karkkola (Finland), Adolfo Rosomundo (Italy), Gonzalo Arias (Spain) and Eveline Alders (Netherlands).

There assignment was:  

 

  •  Define the objectives of the future European Organisation
  •  Define the framework
  •  Precise the diagram that was drawn in Lille
  •  Think of concrete actions

It was defined that N.I.C.E. (the network meetings as in Berlin, Paris, Tampere, Amsterdam) was about openness and giving everybody a change to join explore and exploit the benefits of the exchange, and that there should be an organisation to support activities on a European level.

In Amsterdam during the N.I.C.E. meeting in 2009 the working Group came up with a broad outline of the future organisation. For the first time the Declaration of Youth Circus emerged as: Circus is a multidisciplinary, multicultural art form and a means of non formal learning, based on and teaching respect for oneself and others.

 

Keywords are solidarity and equality, social citizenship, diversity, creativity. And the statement that circus is a for everyone easy accessible tool for creative personal and social development.

Also the working group defined the European Youth Circus Umbrella as an organisation that supports organisations that employ circus as a tool for personal, creative and artistic and social development through support to

  • National representative organisations (umbrellas)
  • Those organisations indicating either the are working on a national representative organisation or
  • Have the position/authority to represent a country

The working group formulated also a set goals for the future organisation:

  • Support quality improvement
  • Support structural development
  • Making information accessible to the working field
  • Governmental and institutional lobby: to create a clear view of circus and find funding
  • Networking with related working field and direct partners
  • Promotion of youth circus with the general public
  • Stimulating intercultural dialogue
  • Stimulate research and facilitate publication of facts and figures
  • Stimulate recognition of circus as an art form in all European countries
  • Serve the platform function

 

In several meetings during spring, summer and fall 2009, hosted by Karl Köckenberger from Circus Shake in Berlin there has been a thorough discussion on the formal organisation in order to build statutes. The statutes were discussed and finalised during the N.I.C.E. Seminar London (2009). You can read the complete text of the statutes of EYCO.