As part of its collaboration with Europe’s largest annual opera festival, which has been held in Salzburg, Austria, for a century and counting, the Swiss owner of PFP has been recruiting young talents aged between 14 and 17 to apply for educational scholarships since 2017. The essence of the project is a cultural exchange between talented students from different countries. The teenagers build useful skills such as English language proficiency, the ability to approach problems in a comprehensive way, working in an international environment, dividing projects into tasks and processes, successfully conducting negotiations and, finally, working together with a team to create a piece of art worthy of demonstration to the general public.
Previously, the program organizers only considered candidates from the families of employees of the Solway-owned Pobughsky Ferronickel Plant, as well as pupils of cultural and educational institutions based in the Pobughye village, Kirovograd region. In 2021, taking into account the realities of the pandemic, the project, which after rebranding acquired the name @creative.fellowship Talent Showcase, will take place in a completely new virtual format, which has allowed us to expand its territorial reach and accept applications from gifted residents of the entire Kirovograd region. Technically, the project is based on the integration of such digital communication tools as Zoom, WhatsApp, Miro and Notion, using additional tools from the social networks Instagram and TikTok.
To participate in the scholarship selection process, an application must be submitted on the program’s website by February 8, 2021. A video confirmation of your talented must also be submitted at that time. Selected candidates will enjoy eight months of creative quests, interactive adventures, virtual travel to cultures of different countries, backstage tours, acquaintances with celebrities and new friends, and much more. At the end of the program, the finalists will be able to take part in a virtual staging of a music and dance show under the supervision of actors from the Salzburg Festival. The performance, created online as a part of the @creative.fellowship Talent Showcase, will be shown at the opening of the festival in Austria in July. Lack of English language knowledge is not an obstacle for potential scholars, as the program includes six-month English courses for its participants.
“The scholarship for talented youth is a part of Solway’s ESG education plan. In addition to refresher courses, career training, and other vocational education opportunities for our employees, we offer the chance to apply to all children aged 14-17 living in the Kirovograd region, united by common interests in the arts. The program is built around educational games and intercultural exchanges to help the teenagers master skills which will give them advantages in future job searches or in developing their own businesses one day. The better and more diverse an education is available to our youth, the better developed our region will be as a whole,” commented PFP Director General Denis Shevchenko.