Newsletter #4

Successful completion of the “Arts4All” project after 2 years of cooperation
-Presentation of Results-

“Arts4All – Art as a mean of social cohesion in the digital era”: that was the sloganand the idea 6 organizations from 4 European countries (Germany, Greece,Cyprus, Bulgaria) started with the project “Arts4All” 2 years ago.
Although the start of the project was complicated by the COVID restrictions atthat time and the first important kick-off meeting could only take place online,the first milestone of the project was soon reached and the curriculum with thethree arts modules “Visual Arts”, “Music” and “Theatre” became freely accessibleon the Arts4All website.
In the further course of the project, the partners met in person for the first timeface-to-face in Athens. There, the e-learning platform (also available as an app) was further elaborated.
In the last phase of the project, all partners piloted the platform with groups ofyoung people in their countries and used the results to make final improvementsto the online tool.
The curriculum with a relevant introduction and user’s manual as well as accessto the e-learning platform is now available on the Arts4All website https://arts-4-all.eu/ in 4 language versions. All products can be downloaded and used free ofcharge. The e-learning platform will be accessible at least for the next 5 years,thus, multiplying the potential impact that the project attempted to create.
On the occasion of the completion of the project, the project partnership wouldlike to deeply thank all participants, stakeholders, and supporters who helped ithappen! Register to the platform, stay in touch, and put the arts in your daily life!

Newsletter #3

International Arts4All Conference & Multiplier Event inDüren / Germany

In the final phase of the Arts4All project, the International ProjectConference, combined with a local multiplier event, took place on 19 April2023. In order to present the project to the public and to disseminate itsresults, the Sozialwerk Dürener Christen as lead partner had invitedrepresentatives of all 5 European partner organisations to Düren /Germany!

With the support of simultaneous interpreters, the partners presentedthe objectives, results and products of Arts4All to the experts audience /multipliers. A special highlight were 2 practical demonstrations from themodules “Music” and “Visual Arts” with a large group of youngparticipants from projects of the Sozialwerk Dürener Christen.

Multipliers as well as participants were impressed by the possibilities ofthe simple and effective implementation of the exercises.

The modules are available free of charge on the project website https://arts-4-all.eu/ for all interested parties.
The piloting of the electronic learning platform is currently underway andwill also be accessible via the website at the end of the project.

Newsletter #2

2nd Arts4All Newsletter
The Arts4All Curriculum
– a central milestone of the project –

After a phase of intensive development work, the project partners wereable to successfully complete and present the Arts4All curriculum!

The curriculum with its three modules “Music”, “Theatre” and “VisualArts” is the central product of the project. It forms the basis for socialworkers, art teachers, lecturers, etc. to apply the art modules in theirpractical work, especially with disadvantaged young people. In addition,the modules form the basis for building the electronic learning platformthat is currently being developed by the project partners.

All three modules are divided into learning units and practical exercisesfor applying and reviewing what has been learned. In order to apply themodules effectively in practice, the curriculum is supplemented by anintroduction to working with the modules and a manual for practicalapplication.
All components of the curriculum are now available for free downloadon the project website arts-4-all.eu for all those interested in theproject.
We cordially invite all interested persons to visit our website and try outthe modules in their practice

Newsletter #1

ABOUT PROJECT

The COVID pandernie has brought about dramatic changes in society; education specifically has been greatly affected. Educators were asked to drastically adapt their pedagogies and methods in order to ensure continued access to education. Unfortunately this exacerbated the effects of inequality, highlighting the Iack of access and know-how to essential digital tools for online learning for students with fewer opportunities ( laptop/internet/use of technological tools etc.).
Our project, Arts4AII, is informed by the research showing that performing arts can provide students with fewer opportunities a creative space for exploration and expression of identities, for challenging discrimination and social exclusion, whilst also tostering integration into culture and society; arts have beneficial effects on youth like challenging discrimination, mitigating social exclusion and fostering intercultural dialogue. 
As such, the Arts4All project will adopt an integrated art pedagogica l approach to enhancing the use of arts for social inclusion, using digital means. Given the adverse impact of the digital environment for all students, we aim to contribute to a growing anthology of digital tools and combine creative arts learning with distant learning, to promote social inclusion and integration, through an innovative mobile application. For more information on our objectives check out our website.

WHAT WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS …

The Arts4All Curriculum

Experts in music, theatre, and visual arts will develop a curriculum targeting adolescents, and especially those with fewer opportunities, that incorporate formal learning environments (school, in-person educational environments) with home environments. A manual will be developed alongside the curriculum to ensure deep understanding and ease of use for educators, art teachers, and youth workers.

The Arts4AJI Mobile App and Open badges

The curriculumwill be adapted to a free, innovative, and research based mobile app led by consortium partner Center for Social Innovation. The app other than being available in all partner languages, will also provide inter-cultural opportunities for sharing artistic creations between users. Users of the app will be able to accumulate badges that can be used to collect various certificates as weil as networking tools. For more information on our outputs check out our website.

 

KICK OFF MEETING

Our kick-off meeting took place online on August 27th, 2021 focused on establishing
the research methodology, quality assurance, valorization and technology frameworks for successful project implementation. This meeting was also used to ensure that all partners clearly understood their role and function in the project and that the reporting and recording responsibilities are outlined and agreed.

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO…

Since our project aims to promote social inclusion and integration through an innovative mobile application targeting adolescents, we implemented a Focus Group to report the suggestions of experts in the fields of arts, education, social work, and integration. The experts’ opinion is critical for us in order to develop a user-friendly, attractive, and influential application to have the greatest possible impact on young people. All country representatives organized focus group discussions; we are in the
process of analyzing the findings and summing up the findings.