History

Meet the freak is a project run by the Naturefriends movement. The original idea appeared already in 2004, as a follow up of an international workcamp organised in Czech Republic.

The volunteers of IYNF’s local group “Duha Voluntary Support” (Duha VTS) grabbed it and shaped the idea to “Meet the freak”. In 2005 the first time, around 48 participants gathered to explore themselves, the others, Europe and art as such, by using the amateur art concept, in Beroun. Duha VTS organised the first camp including space for art groups, meals, performances, free time, basic life needs and a lot of fun.
Inspired by the experience and reports of this first edition Duha VTS and the now bigger “freak-team” did it once more. The project was still organised and coordinated from one country. In 2006, the volunteers responsible for learning and personal growth of the participants gathered before the youth exchange for a training course - get f-ready - in Prague.  

August 2006 meant then Meet the freak - now with two exclamation marks, Inclusion, the Freak Fest(ival) organised at the camp side, still not possible to close the toilets and 60 young people from now eleven European countries learning through amateur art from each other.

The project became big now, very very big.  The enthusiasm of the volunteers from the project brought in November 2006 the first moving exhibition “What the freak?“ to Vienna,  Austria. The exhibition saw in the following months Berlin, Budapest, Bratislava, Bremen, Geraadsbergen and Prague.  

But who would organise Meet the freak - now with three exclamation marks in 2007? The newly founded working group Art in IYNF didn’t. The change to organise Meet the freak!!! entirely on far distance, by volunteers including a significant change in the concept was scary. Many months nothing happened.

One day, after some phone calls and emails, the story went on, in Prague, for a change. Two volunteers from the German IYNF local group “Buchte” came to IYNF office to see if they actually like these freaks. On the other side, two people rather sceptical. Who would come now from Bremen all the way to Prague and would really be able to host that project? To make it short, they liked and still like each other. This meeting pushed the 2007 preparation forward, finally it was clear. Meet the freak!!! will happen. The four people who took over the coordination called themselves the first time the Ping Pong team.

Bremen 2007: A big colourful circus tent with a growing wooden floor, now two art groups to choose for the participants, each one for two days, interaction, three more art fields. In the second week a so called open space for everyone’s ideas. A caravan park next to the campsite, lost hocus focus workshops, fantastic food.

Thanks to the follow up meeting in November 2007 in Bremen, the kick off for 2008 was done in time. IYNF office got an EVS volunteer for the coordination and the Ping Pong team was enlarged. The exclamation mark was maybe an individual again but not alone, a V joined. The big Ping Pong team carried the project month after month. IYNF organised in the meanwhile a Long Term Training Course (LTTC) for facilitators of Amateur Art Education activities, like e.g. Meet the freak. For the first time, a feasibility visit was organised to visit Portugal beforehand.  Again the hosting organisation, Rota Jovem, didn’t know the freaks and the other way round, which had to be changed. It was not easy to find a venue in Portugal. Costa da Caparica and its scouts’ camp won.

2008: The open projects were done a bit different, no smoking in the camp, the topic interaction wanted to be explored in another edition, the local volunteers could also join the programme, difficult time management, the hocus focus were back, an ocean as our neighbour and an own beach bar.

In September 2008 interested volunteers met the first time in Hungary (during the IYNF planning weekend). It was decided. Meet the freak #5 will happen in Szálka, South Hungary. 

To be continued...