OUR STORY

With the ideal to inspire the future generations, we formed Creative YouthLand in 2014 in the coastal town of Egio as a response to the crisis in Greece and its impact on young people and the communities.
We are creative humans,  with a playful and youthful spirit who want to transform people’s lives and see change in the world, on a personal, social, humanistic, cultural and environmental level.
We are advocates of culture, enthusiasts of expression, travelers of exploration, embracers of sharing and cuddlers of caring.
We are artists, creators, initiators, facilitators, youth workers and educators, and ultimately we are human beings.

OUR MAIN PRIORITIES

For YOUTH

Inclusion

Participation

Employability

Well-being

For ARTS and CULTURE

Research

Innovation

Quality

MISSION & VISION

With a local, european and international scope, our mission is to transform lives through a combination of non-formal education methods with artistic approaches that derive from theatre, circus and dance, painting, sculpture, music, poetry, visual arts, etc, providing learning and creation space to young people and under-represented communities, and develop capacity among educators, youth workers, facilitators and artists.

Our vision is more equitable societies where communities are united and young people thrive.

OUR TEAM

Maria Sotiropoulou

Maria is Creative Youthland’s ‘Air element’ and founding member.

She is an international physical theatre artist, actor-creator, youth worker, learning facilitator.
Her pursuit of what an individual communicates non verbally brought her to Dell’Arte International School in California (USA) where she graduated from the Professional Training Program in Physical Theatre with scholarship. She previously trained in Acting (Greece), and she has also studied Human Resources Management (MSc) and Mediterranean Sciences (BA).
Since she discovered non-formal education as the best way of her learning, she wandered the world to grow as a person learning about Emotional & Cultural Intelligence, Conflict Management & Resilience, Neurodiversity & Mental Health, Healing with the Αrts, Youth Work, Permaculture, as well as an artist learning about Mask Movement, Creative Writing, Film Making among others, where she met wonderful people who have inspired her life.
She teaches community and youth theatre, she facilitates non-formal learning activities, and she performs, masked or unmasked, in shows and films across the world.
When she ‘flies’ outside Creative YouthLand, you will find her clowning around, carving theatre masks, miming invisible walls, acrobatically seeing the world upside down, stretching her body as a real yogini, meditatively breathing deeply, scratching her autoharp, hugging trees and hiking in the mountains and, cooking free of gluten and sugar, but full of love, treats!
Maria appreciates honesty, openness to diversity and generosity while her mission is to inspire generations towards a more holistic lifestyle, in body, spirit and mind!

Georgia Sotiropoulou

Creative YouthLand’s ‘water element’ and founding member.

She is a youth worker, facilitator and tango dancer from Greece. Her aptitude for dance and corporeal communication drove her all the way to a professional tango training which she received from great teachers and dancers in Greece and abroad. The first steps she took in formal higher education though, led her to Political Sciences and Public Administration (Ba) and, a few steps further, to Social Policy (MSc).
Since she came across non-formal education, it has been her preferable way of learning, and through it, she trains herself in international learning opportunities on Mentoring and Volunteering, Project Management, Conflict Resolution, Self Awareness, Personal growth, Emotional and Cultural Intelligence, Resilience and Positive Mental Health, Non-verbal and non-violent communication, Creativity and Spontaneity, Expressivity of the body and Performing arts offered by inspiring human beings.
Her enquiring mind, responsive soul and restless body have taken her to a journey of exploration of the benefits of dance and body movement to emotional expression, self-awareness, positive mental health, and communication.
Creative YouthLand aside, she plays with words and notes writing poems and touching the piano’s and harmonica’s chords, she freezes time with her camera clicks, she does pilates to not crease and she dances to release, she follows the sun and gazes at the stars.
Georgia values kindness, meaningful connections and genuine communications, and her calling is to inspire people towards an empathetic lifestyle.