Students from IME Les Violettes in Bagnols and the Rural Family House of Pont-du-Gard gathered for a puppet show

Students from the two establishments met eight times to make the puppets and write the script for the show. Midi Libre – C.L.

Around thirty young people presented a puppet show that they created this Friday, May 31, at the medical-educational institute Les Violettes de Bagnols, addressing social issues. The project was carried out in collaboration with the Knet Partage association.

This is the culmination of a great project for twenty-one young people from the Rural Family House (MFR) of Pont-du-Gard and for eight students from the rsquo;IME Les Violettes in Bagnols-sur-Cèze aged 13 to 19 years old. This Friday, May 31, they presented their creation: a puppet show lasting around ten minutes, in the refectory of the IME Bagnolais in front of their families, staff and the students after a first performance the day before in front of the Castillon-du-Gard nursery schools.

This project was carried out in collaboration with the Knet Partage association. “I have been working on projects with the MFR for five years, but this is the first year I have worked with the IME Les Violettes, says president Laurent Gautier. I am very happy with their work. It is wonderful to see these children blossom while doing the show.”

A show created solely by the students

The project started with an exchange of letters between the students of the IME and the MFR in September. They then met in January and decided to create a puppet show with the theme of recycling as a common thread. “The young people built the show together, explains Armelle, one of the trainers at the MFR. They were the ones who chose the dialogues and subjects they wanted to address while keeping in mind the notion of ecology and sustainable development.&nbsp ;We are very proud of the students' work."

"A great experience"

The Knet Partage association supported young people in making puppets. Using plastic caps, the students represented Dumbo the elephant, Wednesday Addams, Deadpool, Mario, Spiderman and Peppa Pig. During the show, they took the audience on a journey to the four corners of the planet, addressing pollution, violence, discrimination, racism and even harassment. Impactful words spoken in turn by the young people. "It’was stressful but it’a great experience, comments Evan, 17, who played the leading role in the show. I learned the text in a few days but I feel like I managed it well."

To conclude the show, the students were gathered in front of the audience to tell them: "Together let's save the planet". Laurent Gautier took advantage of this moment to give the seven young people from the IME Bagnolais the heart diploma to congratulate them on their work and their investment.