By Marija Marić
Elio Fabbri, a social educator and circus artist, has been pursuing a childhood dream for five years – travelling across Europe aboard his campervan, where he carries out educational and artistic projects aimed at people of all ages.
In a week’s time, he will embark on his Mission of Happiness, a journey through Romania, Bulgaria and the Balkans, during which he will bring his social circus and theatre projects, with the aim of creating spaces for play, freedom and expression, and fostering wellbeing and relationships among children. The choice of the Balkans is not random: Elio has always had a special fascination with this part of Europe, thanks in part to Bregović’s music and Kusturica’s films, which have accompanied him since adolescence.
Serbia will be one of the stops on his Mission of Happiness, with three projects scheduled: two in Belgrade – on 29 September at the Sutjeska Elementary School in Zemun, on 30 September at the Branko Pešić Elementary School in Zemun in collaboration with Music Art Project – and one in Užice on 3 October, in collaboration with Teatar 031.
The journey is made possible exclusively through donations from associations, friends and acquaintances, while his Mission of Happiness stems from a conviction that goes beyond material aspects; as Elio himself recounts: “When happiness is shared, it is more complete, it is fuller, it is more energetic.”
How did the idea of creating the social and community circus come about, how long has it existed, and with what objective?
The idea stems from a precise social need: using art not to put on a show, but to create moments of wellbeing, inclusion and community transformation. It began to emerge at the beginning of the last century as a means of art to transcend repression and express oneself freely.
How are the contents of your shows conceived and created?
The clown shows I perform come from practical experimentation, trying and trying again through play. The story develops as it goes along. The story and the character then take shape.
Which age groups and children are they primarily aimed at?
The projects I carry out adapt to all age groups and all people. It is a matter of adapting based on the situation encountered and manifested. Everyone has the right and the opportunity, if permitted, to express themselves.
You have organised your entire journey in a campervan, which you now consider your home. How demanding is it to live this way, and how do you finance your travels and projects?
Ever since I was 10, one of my dreams was to tour Europe in a campervan, bringing the circus. At 29, I quit my job as a social educator in Bologna, Italy, and followed my dream. Now, about 5 years have passed.
Living in a campervan is constantly an adventure; sleeping in different places between nature and cities, encountering new realities where I can carry out educational and artistic projects, getting to know new cultures and learning new customs and languages stimulates me a lot and constantly puts me to the test.
I have a base for projects where, thanks to them, I manage to make a living: Switzerland and Italy. During the summer, for the past 3 years, I have been organising camps as director with WWF Switzerland and summer camps in Italy for children and youngsters.
For the Mission of Happiness project/journey, contributions from private associations, friends and acquaintances who support the project through a GoFundMe fundraiser allow me to pay for travel expenses, diesel, motorway tolls, etc. The project itself is on a voluntary basis.
Over the years, you must have experienced many unusual situations working with children. Is there any anecdote you recall with particular pleasure and would like to share with us?
One of the pieces of feedback I received was last winter in Bellinzona, Switzerland. Halfway through a social circus workshop, a little girl asked me if we could play by making farting noises. I burst out laughing! You can imagine that we didn’t play that game. But this is to say, from my point of view, that one of the objectives had been achieved. The little girl felt so free and able to express herself that she asked me to fart. What a great success!
The first time I went to Bulgaria, however, a few years ago, I did a few-day project with Roma children and youngsters. Initially, they were so tough; they provoked, and they were aggressive. But after a short while, they proved to be full of love, so sweet and loving. And with so little, they joined in the play and had fun. When you have less, in some way you have more creativity and happiness.
Some people who are very rich in material things go through a major crisis over small things. People who materially have less become more creative and adapt better to difficulties, managing to come out of them with a smile. This is my point of view. Often in Central Europe, where materially you have more, participants are bored and boring; they do not join in the game, there are often complaints and whining, and they let go very little. Of course, not all contexts are like this. But I truly believe that when you have less materially, you have more. The human being adapts and grows stronger in the face of challenges and becomes more creative.
The Mission of Happiness throughout the Balkans
Mission of Happiness is the phrase you use to describe your journey through Romania, Bulgaria, and the Balkans. What does happiness mean to you, and how do you try to convey this idea to children?
It is something that has been affirmed to me more and more. When happiness is shared, it is more complete, it is fuller, it is more energetic.
I feel that when people leave a group, or during a workshop, they laugh, joke, talk with joy; it fills me with happiness! And it is a priceless thing; all the gold in the world cannot compensate for this sensation, which is an inner state, an inner feeling so strong that your eyes fill with tears; it is priceless!
It is something that, at a material level, cannot be seen but is felt within. And that is the point, in my opinion.
In the projects I carry out – and over the years I have been in contact with people of all ages – I convey happiness through play, which is the basis of life.
The most important thing for a little human being is to play. And it is the same for the animal kingdom, which is closer to the world of human beings. If we observe two kitten cubs, their priority will be play, eating, sleeping, and doing their business.
Then we grow up and forget this side, because we have job responsibilities – rightly so – family responsibilities, the responsibility to earn enough to get by in society; we have all accumulated wounds, inner wounds that make us live through patterns of pain… and the fantastic game of life that we lived with so much wonder as children vanishes. We feel wrong, inadequate… Oh, so much heaviness that makes us freeze!
So returning to that spontaneous state of play, of expression, without judgment, of doing something because we feel it from the gut – that for me is the goal. Laughing together. Laughing with you, not at you. There is a big difference!
The example I give during the workshops is to let myself go and be convinced of what I am doing.
Certainly, one of the focal points is being in a group and sharing the state of mutual happiness all together.
Why did you choose the Balkans?
Years ago, I took a trip to the Balkans with an ex-partner and was fascinated by it.
I have always been in favour of the option of travelling overland, because flying creates a crazy culture shock. Going overland or flying from Central Europe to India, there is a huge difference! I have always found inspiring the stories of travellers carrying out humanitarian projects in Asia, South America, Africa, etc., but I always told myself that the need is also right here in Europe, where I grew up.
I found certain areas of Eastern Europe and the Balkans: a Europe that is not Europe!
Then my perspective is that of a Central European, raised in Bologna, in Northern Italy, of course.
Yet seeing and living in situations where, even now in 2026, children in Europe have black, dirty hands, worn-out clothes, grow up amid violence and rubbish, or children born with physical or mental disabilities who are abandoned in hospitals and rejected and spend their entire lives there… It is not right! Something is wrong with the society we have been sold.
What kind of union is this Europe?! A Europe that is not Europe…
I also chose the Balkans because, since my adolescence, I have had friends of Roma origin; I was fascinated by the sounds and music of Bregović-style trumpets, and I am a huge fan of Kusturica’s films, which I follow.
And I feel the need precisely to start from where we are, without going to the other side of the world to bring smiles. It is a daily practice, wherever I am.
Even in Southern Italy, which is very different from Northern Italy, I would like to bring the Mission of Happiness projects in the future.
Could you briefly tell us what the shows you have planned for Serbia will consist of?
They are expressive artistic projects based on the social circus and theatre, where the objective is not technical and virtuoso, but rather to create a state of wellbeing, play and collective freedom through the circle. A place to interact, play, and have fun, taking a moment to stop from daily life.
What would you like children and the audience in Serbia to take away with them after attending one of your shows?
If even just a tiny crumb of hope and happiness shines in the eyes of the participants, I will return with more joy and remember those moments warmly.
To instil hope for a joyful future, where connections are created between human beings. This is what I want. To bring small seeds of hope, and then each of us, if we wish, can cultivate and care for them until they blossom.
As if I were a farmer smoothing out the soil, everyone is then free to do whatever they want with their own plot. I believe my role is to bring very, very small seeds…
Could you tell us about the schedule for your visit to Serbia, and where the Mission of Happiness will take you after Serbia?
The first project will take place in Belgrade and subsequently in the west near Užice.
Once that is finished, I will go for the third time to Stara Zagora, in Bulgaria, to a Roma community through Don Bosco. Then I will return to Italy passing through Albania, and who knows, maybe some other project will come up along the way.
I had to cut this third Mission of Happiness very short because in August, while travelling in Austria, I found myself with a broken campervan clutch and other engine problems. The campervan is perhaps telling me to stop for a bit.
So I decided to do a shorter mission/journey and focus on fewer countries, also to learn the language and better understand the traditions and culture. Thanks to everyone who makes these moments possible, and thank you for taking the time to read this.
Want to support the Mission of Happiness? You can contribute to the fundraiser here.