Nowadays we find that in in almost all European cities, people from different backgrounds coexist and the interaction of these diversities generates intercultural spaces, where relationships are established. The recognition of identities and cultural heritage enriches the lives of citizens and it is fundamental for the construction of positive, respectful and tolerant relationships. This same recognition reinforces the idea and feeling of belonging, aspects of utmost importance to promote an active and participatory citizenship. In a democratic state it is very important to educate citizens to be active subjects, especially young people, in order to discover who they are and recognize and accept cultural diversity as an enriching element. Their active participation is essential and vital both for society and for their development. Cultural and artistic interventions in public spaces can be one of the tools for young people to express their feelings, respect each other, accept differences and similarities, have a peaceful coexistence and be active citizens. Faced with the need to exchange good practices, four European organizations from Italy, Romania, Cyprus and Spain, we have decided to submit this 1-year project, called "Identity and Cultural Heritage Tools for Active Citizenship", whose main objectives are: -To improve key competences of youth workers where artistic and cultural interventions are a tool for social transformation, peaceful coexistence, inclusion and active participation of youth. -To know actions, projects and activities that partner organizations carry out in order to recognize and value the identity and cultural heritage of the territory. -To exchange good practices and experiences in which active and participatory citizenship of the population is promoted through cultural and artistic interventions in public spaces. -To create a network of European organizations aware of the importance of the active participation of citizens, for the construction of a united in diversity Europe, from the respect and appreciation of individual differences. The main activities of the project are: -Transnational coordination meeting in Romania to specify strategies, work methodologies and the details of the following activities (partner agreements, evaluation tools, monitoring, visibility activities, etc.). -Local activities I: diagnosis and situation analysis, mapping and meeting with stakeholders, identification and collection of good practices. -7-days International training in Malaga (Spain) on art, inclusion and cultural creation. 3 people will participate for each partner organization: youth workers who are also artists. -Local activities II: workshops at the local level, realization of artistic and cultural interventions. -Outcomes and outputs dissemination and visibility activities: eBook, video and interventions in the public space. -Final meeting in Italy where the project will be evaluated and a public event will be held to present the outputs. In all phases, the methodology will be very participatory and active based on the constant interaction of knowledge, experiences, practices and interests of participants and partner organizations. The content will be worked in a dynamic and entertaining way, based on non-formal education, liberating pedagogy and emotional intelligence. It is a "learning by doing", which will lead participants to experiment and put into practice the content and tools, all in a climate mediated by affection, tolerance, teamwork, creative development, value experiences, etc. This project will have an important impact on both participants (new skills acquired and/or improved, personal and professional development, etc.), and on organizations (use of new competences and tools, exchange of good practices, better quality of work, etc.), and on society in general (higher levels of active participation of youth in public space, enhancement of cultural heritage, greater awareness of the situation of people at risk of exclusion and belonging to different minorities, appreciating their artistic and musical culture, etc.).
In almost all European cities, people from different origins coexist together, and the interaction of these diverse groups generates an intercultural space where relationships can be forged. The recognition of identities and cultural heritage enriches the lives of citizens and is fundamental for the construction of positive, respectful and tolerant relationships. This same recognition reinforces the idea and feeling of belonging, important aspects for the promotion of active and participatory citizenship. Each individual maintains his/her cultural identity, but at the same time is enriched by diversity. In a democratic state, it is important to educate citizens to be active agents, especially young people, in order for them to discover who they are and recognise and accept cultural diversity as an enriching element. Their active participation is essential and vital, both for society as well as their own development. Cultural and artistic interventions in public spaces can be one of the tools for young people to express their feelings, respect each other mutually, accept differences and similarities, coexist peacefully and be active citizens. For these reasons, organisations from four countries of the European Union (Italy, Romania, Cyprus and Spain) decided to apply for this project, which main objectives are: -To improve key competences of youth workers, using artistic and cultural interventions as tools for social transformation, peaceful coexistence, inclusion and active participation of young people; -To learn about actions, projects and activities that partner organizations carry out with the aim of recognizing and valuing the identity and cultural heritage of the territory; -To exchange good practices and experiences in which active and participatory citizenship of the population is promoted through cultural and artistic interventions in public spaces; -To create a network of European institutions which are aware of the importance of active participation from citizens, in order to build a Europe that is united in diversity, while respecting and valuing individual differences. The main activities carried out in the framework of the project are: -Coordination meeting in Romania (April 2019) to specify strategies, working methods and details of future activities. -Local Activities I (April – August 2019): analysis of the situation, mapping and meetings with stakeholders and identification of good practices. -Training Event in Spain (September 2019) on art, inclusion and cultural creation. 3 people participate for each partner organization (youth workers, educators, trainers, facilitators, etc. with experience in cultural and artistic interventions and interested in adquiring new competences to develop a higher quality work), plus 3 trainers/facilitators. Sessions: presentation of participants, organizations and Local Activities I, conceptualization on the topic and management of public interventions, visit to Lagunillas neighbourhood, preparation and presentation of workshops for Local Activities II, Erasmus+ Programme, networking and future projects. -Local Activities II (September – December 2019): two local workshops and a visibility activity (intervention) in each country. -Final Meeting in Italy (January 2020): presentation of the project and its results, including main outputs (eBook and video), visibility activity with local population and evaluation of the project among partner organizations. This project had an important impact on both participants (new competences acquired and/or improved, personal and professional development, etc.), on organizations (use of new competences and tools, exchange of good practices, better quality of work, new priorities and approaches, new collaborations at local and international level, etc.), and on society in general (active participation of youth in public space, enhancement of cultural heritage, greater awareness of the situation of people at risk of exclusion and belonging to different minorities, appreciating their artistic and musical culture, etc.). Finally, it should be underlined that the implementation of this project confirmed to all organizations the importance of developing international projects that have an impact at local level and benefit local population, which should be the focus and guidance of all projects carried out in the framework of Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.