The project in summary

Artistic activities and Healthcare Clowning interventions in Greece and in the Balkans for migrant and refugee minors, accompanied and unaccompanied.

The project in detail

In 2021, RED NOSES Clowndoctors International (RNI) has strengthen its presence in migratory contexts in Europe by conducting 2 Emergency Smile Missions in Mainland Greece (Nea Kavala Refugee Site, cities of Kilkis and Polykastro) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (Borici, Miral and Usivak TRCs, and 5 Primary and Secondary schools in Una-Sana Canton)  in collaboration with renowned international humanitarian organizations and local NGOs, and has consolidated the current Emergency Smile Methodology, adapting it to measure the impact of Healthcare Clowning activities in migratory contexts, with a priority focus on unaccompanied minors (Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children, UASC). The project aimed to:

  • Give children the possibility to bring out their traumas and express their feelings in a playful manner, to help them reconnect to positive feelings and regain reliance and hope;
  • Transfer the Skills of Healthcare Clowning to the local Staff members and volunteers of humanitarian organizations operating on the field in order to increase their psychosocial wellbeing and help them reduce the stress they experience in their everyday professional lives;
  • Identify, disseminate and replicate the Best Practices of Healthcare Clowning in other emergency contexts and transfer them to other stakeholders who intervene on the ground.
  • 719 minors on the move (0-18 ages), out of which 39 UASC and 9 with disabilities, located inside the Borici, Miral and Usivak (Bosnia-Herzegovina) and Nea Kavala (Greece) Refugee Sites;
  • 957 Bosnian children (6-12 ages) participated to several Healthcare Clowning interventions in 5 Primary and Secondary schools in Una-Sana Canton;
  • 90 teachers benefited from Healthcare Clowning interventions organized in 5 schools of Una-Sana Canton and 9 teachers in the spaces of the Open Cultural Center (OCC) in Polykastro;
  • 456 adults, out of which 12 women, participated to Healthcare Clowning interventions organized inside 3 Refugee Sites in Bosnia-Herzegovina and 1 in Mainland Greece;
  • 69 humanitarian aid workers and volunteers of Save the Children North-West Balkans, World Vision, IOM, A Drop in the Ocean and Wave of Hope, participated in 5 Humour Relief Workshops.

The two missions in Mainland Greece and in Bosnia-Herzegovina, also with Alta Mane support, have foreseen the following activities:

  • 1 Pre-mission Training in Vienna (3 days each) during which 9 clown-doctors and 3 RNI Head of Mission have been trained for the mission;
  • Mission on the field (3 weeks each) during which various artistic and Healthcare Clowning activities have been organized such as clown-shows, musical parades and Circus Smile Workshops reaching 719 minors on the move (0-18 ages) and 957 Bosnian children (6-12 ages), and 5 Relief Humour Workshops intended to 69 humanitarian aid workers and volunteers of the organizations operating in the different reception centers;
  • One-day Debriefing in Vienna during which the clown-doctors had the opportunity to process and reflect on lived experiences, discuss critical issues encountered during the mission, evaluate the interventions and share the Lessons Learnt with the Emergency Smile Project Leader;
  • Monitoring & Evaluation Process to assess the impact, effectiveness, sustainability and replicability of the Program.