Future Telling 5: The Fifth Element is an international exchange of young people from Slovenia, Croatia, Israel, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Finland. The main reason for designing the youth exchange project was the
need for the implementation of new knowledge, skills, and methods in work with youth in theatre and in film making.

Seven partners and eight young participants from each country (together 56 young participants and 15 youth leaders) will participate in the exchange, which will take place between 14 and 19 August 2023 in Koper, Slovenia. A range of different approaches to work with youth in theatre and film and new work methods in youth theatre/film (from physical theatre and verbal theatre to devised and clown theatre, feature and documentary film) will be presented during the exchange.

The methods will be presented by young participants under the mentorship of the experienced theatre or. filmmaker. Thus, each participant will receive an overview of seven new theater/film methods, with which in the final presentation he will be able to present the up -to -date and critical story of the world we live in.
The topic of the workshops will be "The Fifth Element". In the old world, there were 4 main elements: water, air, earth and fire. Nowadays, there is a fifth one. Internet. We live in a time of dual lives. One is “the real world”, the other life on the Internet; life on forums, on Facebook, Tik-Tok, Instagram, there are new environments such as Bereal, Popazzi, Clubhouse and Somewhere Good. We have pushed freedom of speech to the extreme limits: everyone can say their opinion, but no one later assumes responsibility. Untouchable, hidden behind our (false) profiles we spread our beliefs, fake news, and hatred, unpunished and without the real opposition. Internet provides us (false) privacy and security. We feel safe, relaxed, we become more confident, inviolable. As a result, we are also more vulnerable and susceptible to (extreme) ideas and beliefs. My image in the virtual world is becoming more and more important. Retouched images are part of everyday life, behind them are retouched personalities. My internet friend, a soulmate that I may have met during playing online games and and with whom I have so much in common, might be a sexual predator who is slowly gaining my confidence ... The rise of fast and unverified information has made possible the rise to the populism. Our idols are no longer top artists, charities, scientists, but rather influencers who fascinate us with their (photoshopped!) lifestyles. They show us what we want to see - an idealized world, full of beautiful things, expensive cars, and unforgettable places. They tell us what we want to hear: that we can achieve everything we want without an effort and that we can have everything they have.
And if for yearswe somehow managed to separate and hide this second life from the real life, the time of the pandemic broke that border. At the time when everything moved online, this second life prevailed over real. A few years ago, Andrew Tate would only fill a short column in the black chronicle section, but today is the world of violence, chauvinism, and misogyny that he created, a real problem and there are young people who took his world and his ideals for their own.
We want young people to explore the relationships in online environments, what are the pitfalls that this "fifth element" represents and how to react, to defend ourselves. To create a world that will be safe, pleasing and will coexist with the "real" world.
The main goal of the project is to present new methods to participants, methods that they will be able to use in their(professional) work in the future. They will gain new theatre and movie making knowledge and skills on how to re- interpret and actualize the content of a given subject.