On 16 September Little Amal visited the children of Bologna and learned about the rights of children to enrichment through the arts. This step on her journey was arranged by ASSITEJ Italy and its members.
On July 27, 2021, Amal embarked on her journey. The students from Bern accompanied Amal digitally and by means of postcards with tips and wishes.
On September 29, 2021, Amal was welcomed in Bern after making her 1st Switzerland stop in Geneva the day before.
In more than 20 workshops held by ASSITEJ Switzerland theater educators in and around Bern, students will get to know Amal and her experiences on her long journey. Together they extend the friendship corridor across Europe and deal with topics such as migration, adventure, climate, fear, friendship and welcome culture.
About the Journey of little Amal
Little Amal, a young refugee, has embarked on a remarkable journey – an epic voyage that is taking her across Turkey, across Europe. To find her mother. To get back to school. To start a new life. Will the world let her? Can she achieve what now seems more impossible than ever?
In 2021, from the Syria-Turkey border all the way to the UK, The Walk is bringing together celebrated artists, major cultural institutions, community groups and humanitarian organisations, creating one of the most innovative and adventurous public artworks ever attempted.
At the heart of The Walk is ‘Little Amal’, a 3.5 metre-tall puppet of a young refugee girl, created by the acclaimed Handspring Puppet Company. Representing all displaced children, many separated from their families, Little Amal is travelling over 8,000km embodying the urgent message “Don’t forget about us”.
At this time of unprecedented global change, The Walk is an extraordinary artistic response: a cultural odyssey transcending borders, politics and language to tell a new story of shared humanity – and to ensure the world doesn’t forget the millions of displaced children, each with their own story, who are more vulnerable than ever during the global pandemic.
Little Amal is a 9 year old refugee who has fled her war-torn country and is in search of her mother. There are tens of thousands of Amals, boys as well as girls, who need to find their way into education and to rebuild their lives. To try to help we’ve launched The Walk’s Amal Fund which will be administered by our close colleagues Choose Love. Amal means hope in Arabic. If you’ve been moved by Amal’s journey help young refugees like her find a more hopeful future.
A visit to the Vatican
On 22 September, a few days after the visit to Bologna, Amal arrived to the Vatican in rome.
