In 2016 and 2017, The ROOTS & ROUTES Peer Coach Academy ran as a nationwide project: young artists from Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Hesse, Munich, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony trained as junior lecturers for cultural and media education youth work.
Dance as you are! In the fall of 2021, young people between the ages of 14 and 18 can participate free of charge in a street dance and theater project with proven RRCGN instructors Elisa Giovannetti and Yasemin “Joya” Saat.
The hip-hop network in the Cologne-Nippes district has been organizing a workshop phase every fall since 2001, during which there are dance, music and graffiti workshops in various youth centers and schools. RRCGN has been active in the network since 2015.
In October 2020, 18 members of the iJuLa youth curatorium set off from Cologne to Heek: At the 10-day iJuLa Kick-off Academy, ideas for offers, workshops and events in the future iJuLa space were developed.
The annual fall break workshop week “ROOTS & ROUTES goes Bergisch Gladbach” took place in 2020 linked to the project “iJuLa – intersectional youth labs in the Veedel”. Along the theme “Hip-Hop for Democracy”, 29 young people dealt artistically with the topic of “fear”.
After a four-year break, the ROOTS & ROUTES Peer Coach Academy finally took place again in 2021 – this time as part of the project “iJuLa – intersectional YouthLabs in Cologne”. 20 young artists took part in the block seminar phase in Heek.
As a full member of the international ROOTS & ROUTES network, RRCGN regularly participates in transnational projects multiple times a year, that serve to further develop the network and its methods and approaches, as well as international youth work with artistic approaches more generally.
Although RRCGN has a focus on international exchange work, it is also permanently active in local projects in Cologne and the surrounding area. Step1 projects are aimed at young people who want to take their first steps in trying out an art form.
ROOTS & ROUTES is an international network; RRCGN sends groups of young artists to projects of our network partners several times a year.
Since 2008, partner organizations in the international ROOTS & ROUTES network have jointly developed a concept and curriculum for a cultural peer coach training; for young artists from performing arts and media who would like to pass on their competencies to peers and younger people as peer coaches.