1st Grown-Up Kids University

From inhabitANTS to cityZENs

Kids University is a workshop for curious and charismatic children, which has been taking place at ARTos Foundation since 2005 with great success. Educators and professionals from the fields of the arts and sciences, create a specially designed programme where children have the opportunity to develop both the creative and the logical part of their brain, as to be able to envision and materialize their dreams through creative expression, scientific knowledge, the strengthening of self-confidence and innovative ways of thinking.

We have been repeatedly asked to organize a “Grown-Up Kids University”. After two years of research and reflection we have designed the 1st Grown-Up Kids University. Our aims are to awaken the child within us as adults, but also integrate substantial knowledge and experience in our daily lives through a friendly environment that triggers creation and logic on equal terms, in the form of a “Treasure Hunt”. The dominant elements are: knowledge, experience, play, fun and the relationship that will be developed amongst the participants. Bottom line, the most effective way of learning is through joy, pleasure and discovery.

Participation Fee:
30 euros (50 euros for couples) - Special price for the 1st Kids University for Grown ups
**Pre-payment or 50% deposit required

For registrations and further information please contact us at: 99611159 and 22445455
***Please register by 12/03/201

Workshops & Instructors:

Transcendental Theatre, with Eleni Cosma
Theatre provides the magical quality of allowing kids to feel like adults, and adults to feel like kids. Through the make-believe worlds we create, we can momentarily step into the shoes of anyone we like! The program will include a short selection of energetic theatre games designed to help us break our walls and feel free and comfortable.

Eleni studied theatre at the University of Kent, earning a First Class Masters degree in Applied Theatre. She has worked in both England and Cyprus as a workshop facilitator, in projects with adults with learning difficulties, young asylum seekers, elderly people, children, teenagers and adults. She currently works full time for Theatro Transcendental, as playwright, director and workshop facilitator, and teaches GCSE and A-level DRAMA part-time at The Senior School, Nicosia. In 2014, she organized the first Nicosia Youth Arts Festival, in association with Artos Foundation. Her play, ‘’Which Body?’’ co-written with Korina Kontaxaki, was staged in October-November 2014 by THOK.

Herbs in our everyday life, with Konstantinos Georgiou (Utopia Collectiva)
We live on an island with wild life and a variety of herbs in the natural environment. The strong sun and the diversity of soil contribute to the excellent quality of herbs with very high content of natural elements. During the seminar we will learn how to use this natural wealth. How can we develop our personal contact with herbs and how we can include them in our everyday life, by planting them ourselves in our garden and during walks in nature. We will also talk about the role of herbs in the ecosystem.

Konstantinos Georgiou studied landscape architecture in Melbourne, Australia. He is professionally designing and maintaining gardens and he has an organic farm in the village o f Flasouw here he produces vegetables, herbs and herbal products such as essential oils. Finally, he is a member of Utopia Collectiva.

Utopia Collectiva is based at the Utopia Shop, inside the walled city of Nicosia where all cultures meet. As stated on the Collective’s webpage “wellbeing is the main axis of our lives and we care about the environment and our relation to the community. Our aim is to promote and encourage a healthy, collective and sustainable way of living.”

Experiencing the now, with Christina Georgiou
This mini workshop is a selection of practical exercises from the Performance art workshop "SenseSelfEssence" by Christina Georgiou, and uses the senses through empirical processes that concern the self and its existence in the “here and now”.

Christina Georgiou is a visual and performance artist, curator, educator, researcher and writer. Since 2008, she has been conducting classes, workshops, lectures and seminars within diverse contexts like academic institutions, art schools and other creative organizations in Cyprus and abroad. Christina Georgiou is the founder and director of the Cyprus International Performance Art Society (CIPAS) and the founder, director, producer and curator of the Cyprus International Performance Art Festival (CIPAF).

Neighbourhood Interactions: Community building, with Schedia
Schedia organizes an innovative workshop within the framework of "Grown-up Kids University", during which the participants will be asked to invent original ways of communicating with their neighbours; aiming at getting to know and help each other and the exchange of knowledge and skills. The aim of the workshop is to promote dialogue for co-creation and the formation of strong communities.

Schedia is a small design collective focusing on spreading the word of people–centred and socially engaged design in Cyprus. We are particularly interested in how the design that engages with local communities on a social level and considers their needs, expectations, aspirations and everyday challenges can improve the use of public spaces, the process of urban regeneration and some public and private services related to the cityscape. We design, organise and facilitate talks, participative workshops and transdisciplinary projects.

Invisible Electromagnetic Fields in our Homes, with Achilleas Kentonis
A crush course that helps us to identify the "invisible" electromagnetic fields in our home and their effect on human health and especially children.

Achilleas Kentonis studied Electrical Engineering, Physics and Fine Arts at the University of South Alabama, USA and completed his Masters Degree in Spain. He worked for two years in “electromagnetic” research for NASA, USA and he was trained at MIT in Boston, USA in innovative thinking and its applications. Founder of: the Centre of Contemporary Culture for Middle East, “Multum in Parvo” Research Centre investigating the electro-magnetic and geomagnetic radiation in relation to the human body, “Innovation Gym” which focuses on mentoring and education in order to produce innovative ideas and applications and co-founder of ARTos Cultural and Research Foundation.

The Vikexploratorium, with Viken Tavitian
The “Vikexploratorium” is a highly educational and entertaining science and technology show created and developed by Viken Tavitian. It consists of hands-on approaches to complicated science phenomena unveiling them in a fun way through simple experiments. The idea of these hands-on experiments is to convey that science is all around us and there is nothing to fear of science.

Viken Tavitian is a laser physicist by education, a graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has been a researcher, inventor, patent holder, author, teacher and projects manager in many interdisciplinary fields. During the last 4 years he created and developed the “Vikexploratorium” Science & Technology show and the Science Comedy “Vikomedy Shows”, with several thousand hands-on, fun experiments and demonstrations.

*followed by drinks in the yard and snacks by “Utopia Colectiva”