The Benčić Youth Council: Work and Play in Rijeka, Croatia (The Secret Ingredient – 24/09/14)

The Secret Ingredient

Preuzmimo Benčić was a video project by Canadian artist Althea Thauberger depicting a decommissioned factory in Rijeka, Croatia, occupied by 70 children ages playing the roles of its former workers who have re-skilled as artists. The Benčić Youth Council, a group of young people who learn about and create culture in the city, which takes its name and protagonists from the video, provides the context for this discussion of how children can gain agency in planning cities. We discuss models of education in relation to early learning experiences. Weaving in the voices of some of the Youth Council members, we talk about the theories of the Toronto-based collective Mammalian Diving Reflex, who works with their youth wing, the Young Mammals, as an organizational and art-scene succession plan. Consider how involving youth in shaping the places and processes of our shared life is not only part of a life-affirming model of education, but also a contribution to clearer and more meaningful decisions for all of us. O’Donnell, Darren. “Toronto the Teenager." In UTOpia: Towards a New Toronto, edited by Jason McBride and Alana Wilcox. Toronto: Coach House Books, 2005. (November 6, 2013)