Volunteer Iris Lopatta is on board

Iris is one of the volunteers who will be taking part in the project, share the youngsters´ life and organize some activities beside the rehearsals for them- provided the kids still have some energy left after six hours of "focusing" and jumping around. But who knows, we might be surprised. Here she is:

 Iris Lopatta (Franco-German)

I started being involved in small socio-cultural projects through a circus project at High School. A participant at that time, I had the opportunity to learn different circus arts and especially to create and lead a group of youngsters from different backgrounds both on a local and on an international basis. In 2003 I spent a year in South Africa where I was integrated in the local community. During my stay there I assisted at an orphanage in Port Elizabeth on a voluntary basis. These various experiences reinforced my decision to actively engage myself in the socio-cultural domain.

After finishing High School I joined the European Voluntary Service programme (EVS) working at a circus school in the suburbs of Paris. At the Plus Petit Cirque du Monde, I tought children and youngsters between 3 and 17 years on a weekly basis. My main focus was acrobatics. Beside classes I helped organizing events and got involved in a project with young adults form the region. Part of the project was an intercultural exchange with three other social community circuses (from Ireland, Argentina and Peru) which took place in Peru in 2006.

Currently I am studying humanities and social sciences at Maastricht University College in the Netherlands.