Stage Breeze actors Dorianne Bonanno, Natasha Turner and myself were invited for this year's European Youth Programme entitled "Here We Live! Creative passages for understanding the different and cultural polymorphism in Europe".

Along for the experience were four other non-governmental organisations from Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Hungary.

The warm and friendly welcome of the Greek Artistic Pedagogic Youth Group "Sxedia" on our arrival at the airport set the mood for the week. At the start of the seminar, each of the representatives introduced their country and their organisation, setting the stage for better communication. In smaller formations, the workshops allowed us to relate on a personal level using our creativity to bring down borders.

The theme for the Greek representatives was differentiation - the essence of a person comes from within and not as defined by the country of birth or the native language. Everyone is different in his/her unique way.

Interesting brainstorming and performance sessions were carried out in connection with this "difference" issue. One of our performances played on the interaction with the character of Aisha, a coloured girl from a different background. In the end, the same director was drawn into acting out the role of Aisha himself, a supposedly dainty female! The idea was to break down all misconceptions, be it gender, colour or culture.

As part of their representation, the group from Greece introduced us to Christos, a local percussionist, whose rhythms and sounds captured each of us. I found myself enriched after being introduced to various percussion instruments. The concept behind this afternoon was to allow music to act as a devised language among the whole group - each of us was communicating through the beat of the drum... or at times the playfulness of it!

The youths from Slovenia homed in on psychological workshops. This group collaborated with deaf children back at home. They set the scene of an 11-year-old in an imaginary crisis who starts to act strangely with her classmates and smoke pot due to family, childhood and attention-seeking issues. Our task was to collectively identify the problem and resolve it.

We started dealing with the fact that this child was going through a lot of background problems, some of which were drug problems, lack of attention, parents' divorce and conflicts with her physical body. We discussed these issues, plausible solutions and finally pinpointed the best solutions. We finished off with various tableaux of solutions - a tableaux of the girl surrounded with her friends open heartedly giving her love and support, another tableaux of the girl that stopped smoking pot with the aid of her friends and a final tableaux of a family portrait.

It was fascinating how everyone ended up in the same line of thought of unifying forces with this girl in need of a new vision of life.

The imagination from the Polish group led to circus work, consisting of diabolos (props consisting of a spool which is whirled and tossed on a string tied to two sticks held one in each hand), toss juggling with balls, beanbags, rings and clubs. They demonstrated a huge variety of tricks, even with the use of fire torches. Adrenaline started pumping as we were allowed to handle the acts.

Cultural visits around Thessaloniki did not go amiss and a fruitful cultural night was organised. Each group shared and experienced the history, language, music and culture of the five countries. I was delighted with the opportunity to perform improvised street theatre in the Greek's main piazza.

Here each night, many of the social minorities, such as the disabled and drug addicts, interact with the mainstream crowd and passers-by in the name of entertainment. Our goal was to be part of this microcosm.

All the participants of the seminar joined forces in three successful performances displaying the skills acquired during the workshops - one focused on masks, one on drama and instrument playing, and one on juggling.

The group performing with the masks paid attention to the idea of fusing cultures together making sole use of the masks and body movements. The second group, the Dorianne and Natasha belonged to, explored the idea of discrimination - a girl whose parents never allowed her to interact with buskers. Last on the list was my group. We livened up the evening with our newly acquired juggling skills, interacting with the audience in this piazza.

I find myself truly grateful and fulfilled for having journeyed through this unforeseen and deeply profound experience. I shall be sharing the fruits of this eye-opening encounter in my homeland. Needless to say, my colleagues and I are proud to have left a singular and spirited footprint back in Thessaloniki and in the hearts of the youths we encountered - typical of our Maltese culture.