Partners in the Wordwide Virtual School Pépé's eiland was made with members of the core group of the Virtual School, in which Sering co-operates to build a creative network that builds bridges between North and South. We got to know these like-minded groups at international festivals such as the Internationaal Wijktheaterfestival in Rotterdam (International Community Theatre Festival,  in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2008), Madness and Arts Festival (second edition, organised by Sycorax in Münster, Germany, 2006), ArteTerapia Festival (in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, 2007).

AyE kidsOur international partners are:

Arena y Esteras
Arena y Esteras (photo) is active in Villa El Salvador, a big squatters' town outside Lima (Peru). They aim at human development through different art forms such as dance, theatre, music, circus, etc... The themes that are developed are respect for human rights, inter-culturality and gender. The living area, the market place and the school are their stage.

Teatro Pregones
New York based artist of Puerto-Rican origin (Rosalba Rolon, Luis I. Meléndez and David Crommet) weave together theatre, music and dance in this theatre in the Bronx. They work along the oral traditions of the Latino community. They link their own history to indigenous mythological tales. Since 1981 Pregones also organises workshops for social and cultural organisations, universities and schools.

Tswelopele Performing Artists
The group was founded in Tembisa (Johannesburg, South Africa) in November 1994 by Oupa China Malatjie, who wants to bring people from different cultures and diverse backgrounds together in an atmosphere of equality through stage arts. Tswepa comprises a changing group of some twenty youngsters in the age between 13 and 28 years, often pupils and students from socially vulnerable surroundings. They attend dance and drama classes, learn poetry and story telling. Participants of Tswepa proceed to professional and semi-professional jobs in small and large arts organisations and the public service. (Initially, our partner in South Africa was The Youth Drama Society from Soweto. The theatre aimed to give youngsters a voice under the Apartheid regime, and also afterwards help them to get a grip on the social and political questions that determine their lives. (When Peter Ngwenya, founder of TYDS, got seriously ill in 2007, we turned to Oupa Malatjie and Tswepa for the creation of Pépé's Island. Peter died in May 2009.)

Red Zone Company
Red Zone Company is a group of young theatre actors in Iraq, a country torn apart by war and violence. They want to make untamed theatre without compromises, starting from the everyday pain in the streets of Bagdad and in full artistic liberty. Their performances have free entry for all that wish to come and see them.

The central group of the International Virtual School held a meeting in Belgium in May 2009 that planned the next steps in the development of the School. Groups that have shown interest in joining the project were also invited. Community theatres and other social-artistic initiatives interested in taking part are encouraged to contact us.
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