Written bei Renée Moreaux and Charlotte Krieger
This article should have been part of the first issue of the “GrIStuF Festival Times” – but there wasn’t enough space for it. So it’s now published here:
After two days of arrival in Greifswald the festivals started with the official opening in the theater. It was the first time that all participants came together and met the whole GrIStuF-Team. At the entrance the participants, hosts and friends of GrIStuF were welcomed by colourful painted pantomimes. Little pieces of wood were distributed to the participants. Later those small pieces arranged to one whole sculpture. Enticed by the first tones of piano music some guests went shy but curios into the hall of the theater where they could marvel at the acrobatics of Compagnie Aquanaut, an artistic ensemble. Everyone took his seat.
So did our patron Bärbel Bohley, a civil rights activist and artist. She was one of the founders of the political movement Neues Forum, a civil opposition movement which contributed a lot to the peaceful revolution in the GDR and the end of the socialist state of Eastern Germany. She was fighting for democracy and civil rights such as freedom of opinion. In her later projects she went abroad to support and help Bosnian war refugees near Sarajevo after the armed conflicts in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is a big honor for us, that she decided to come to Greifswald to support our ideas and thoughts.
What does it mean – response-ability?
Then Inga, a member of the GrIStuF team and Christoph, a friend of our association welcomed the guests with a sincere and motivating welcome speech, as an introduction for the evening and the whole festival week. In that speech they explained the motto of the festival “response-ability” from a personal and emotional point of view and they tried to explain how important it is for us as students to take responsibility:
“But what does it mean – response-ability? For us, it means to be able to respond to the problems of our world, the problems we are all confronted with! (…) Just look around – we are far from being alone to work for solutions. All together you traveled more than one million kilometers to meet, to be together, to share thoughts and feelings, to connect, to discuss, to share the same responsibility for our world. What could be more powerful than people like you coming together? What else could give more hope than you? (…) So don’t wait for any final answers to respond. The world needs you now. Don’t keep yourself at the margin of society, criticizing, whining, thinking. Society is the root of everything – and it is the only place where you can change something. Go right into it and live your responsibility! “
After the welcome speech the evening was continued with personal words of Bärbel Bohley and some artistic highlights from Compagnie Aquanaut. Finally, the GrIStuF-members introduced themselves while giving a big balloon picturing the globe hand to hand through the tiers of the theater. In the end all guests and the GrIStuF team formed a human drum by performing a hand clapping canon. It was delightful evening full of inspiring moments.
Photos: Marco Wagner und Patrice Wangen
