ART 4 ACT

ART4ACT : ART IN ACTION FOR AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY

 

The non-profit organisation Têtes de l’Art is the leader of the project Art4Act – Art in action for an inclusive society. This project is incorporated within the framework of the Erasmus + Youth programme and will take place over a two-year period, from November 2016 to October 2018. It is conducted by one Tunisian and seven European partners.

The EU Youth Strategy promotes equal opportunity for the young people in terms of education and employment and incite them to become active citizens.

 

A PROJECT AGAINST ALL EXTREMISMS

European countries are facing a major challenge. They must maintain inclusive societies while insuring unity and cohesion amongst EU members, in a context of political, societal, economic and social inequality.

The so-called “migration crisis” and terrorist attacks have lead to the suspension of the Schengen agreement in some countries and to the reinforcement of national security measures.

Many media channels relay patriotic, identity, ideological and anti-migrant hate discourses. Europe runs the risk of becoming a fortress, withdrawing into itself. Research shows that social inequality and the marginalisation of population groups feed these words of hate, giving rise to extremisms and xenophobia in political discourses and among the people.

Younger generations are particularly exposed to radicalisation and to the appeal of nationalist and terrorist movements. “French minors have become the target of a technique known as ‘saturation’.” says a senior official of counter-terrorism.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH ART AND INFORMAL EDUCATION

Drawing on these observations, the aim of the Art4Act project is to try out practices and tools used both in art and in informal education, in order to fight the rise of these tendencies amongst the youth and to promote freedom of speech, intercultural communication, social inclusion and the respect of others.

The eight partners of this project also share the ambition to create a sustainable network, which would unite European and non-European organisations which work with young people in artistic and cultural fields. Through mutual training schemes and the sharing of good practice, their aim is to reinforce their knowledge and skills to benefit youth-oriented actions.

The involvement of local communities in participatory artistic projects will lead to the creation of narratives, allowing marginalised people to speak up. Using public spaces as places of shared encounter will hopefully open public debate.

A YOUTH-ORIENTED ACTION

The project aims to involve cultural, social or educational youth workers whether they support, accompany or educate young people. The objective is to provide them with art-oriented analysis tools and work methods which will allow them to understand and react to current tendencies and to involve youths in citizen actions.

The partners deal with socially-involved young artists, working with multiple art forms; these artists master interdisciplinary skills and are therefore able to lead participatory workshops with young people.

One common objective of the partners is to favour communication amongst local youth communities, including, namely, newly arrived immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

EIGHT COMMITTED PARTNER

Art4Act unites eight partners, seven of which are located in the EU and one in Tunisia. Six organisations are part or the International Routes and Roots network, which promotes social and cultural diversity in performing arts and in modern media. Since 2001 and in ten European countries, the network has been organising training sessions, performances and events, mobility exchanges and programmes, for youths showing talents in the fields of dance, music or in the media industry. All eight partners work in favour of cultural development and offer related tools. Most develop coaching, professionalisation and mobility actions for young artists. Many of them work on the issue of public spaces as places for the development of citizenship.  

 

TWO YEARS OF SHARING AND TRAINING

Art4Act includes several phases and types of activities, spanning from the beginning of November 2016 to the end of October 2018 :

  • Internal coordination meetings amongst the project partners.
  • 2 mutual training seminars aimed for youth workers (working with each partner). These seminars will allow experience sharing around a theme. The first one will take place in Marseille in June 2017 and will be followed by that of Cologne, in April 2018.
  • Trial actions led by youth workers and artists and involving local youth
  • Public events, held by each partner, allowing them to present the results and lessons drawn from the project to a large audience.

Following on from the collaboration, the partners will publish a compendium of pedagogical material (essays, protocols, case studies, bibliographies…) related to the project’s themes and a series of videos presenting each partners’ local youth-oriented activities.