In a culture-participatory process we want to work on strengthening and connecting low-literate students. Our research question is: In what way can creativity contribute to personal development in achieving life goals and basic skills? Therefore we will focus on participation in its broadest sense. Besides the more classical methods for the transfer of knowledge, we intend to research other - more creative - methods of acquiring language and essential skills or methods that lead to a better embedding of lessons learned. The substantiation for this demand for creativity was given in the context of the rapidly changing society in which the issues are becoming increasingly complex. The ability to act in a problem-solving way and the the ability to think convergent are becoming essential, and creative skills are offering a considerable contribution to this. Art is taking a complementary position. Art shows that there are different ways of looking at the world around us and expressing this, which is why it acts as a means of reflection in society. Language and creativity form the basis of personal development, art bridges the (living) environment and the world (of experiences). Socio-artistic methodology: We use art as a means to learn basic skills and stimulate connection and self-expression. Low-literature students often have no networks, social or cultural. Due to the language barrier It is extremely difficult for them to meet new people. To learn that language, Literacy Houses are strongly committed to language and integration courses. These hardly ever assume a reciprocity aspect. The learning process is one-sided and trainees seldom have the opportunity to develop their personal or elsewhere acquired skills. The low-literate student is central to the project. We approach the student from an integral vision: as a learner and as a person. (Learning) skills, learning styles, background characteristics, roles in society, personal characteristics and motivation play an important role. We also want to pioneer new educational forms, in a broader context of a participatory and inclusive society. We hope to inspire organizations, agencies, governments and other actors and we want to use the outcome of our project to really remove barriers to focus on underlying competencies. We would like to investigate the possibilities of participation within the context of the arts and thus initiate lasting changes in the relationship between (art) institutions and other sectors. Activities: We organize activities that develop the students' creative competences, such as talent development and practice development. We will work in a process-based manner, in various phases. The student is not a spectator, but an active maker. We encourage them to enter into dialogue or even conflict with the artist. In this way we also teach them to communicate in a targeted and sincere way and to express their feelings. Moreover, there is a chance of real cultural participation developing by giving room to different opinions and backgrounds of participants and artists during the creative process. The artist also has the opportunity to broaden his horizons here. Effect: Participants become more resilient, learn to take their own responsibility in developing their creations. They discover, develop and promote their talents. The artistic process is guided by the artist and the social process by a social counselor in a unique collaboration. CBE wants to explore and refine this methodology in order to intrinsically motivate the students to learn basic skills. The student learns to take ownership of his trajectory and hopefully with that acquired ownership he can also tackle other challenges in his learning process. Both parties explore each other's space and in this way create a common frame of reference, from which art is created. In this way they become buddies who grow together under the impulse of mutual creativity. Often these students also bring a piece of their own culture into the RUIMTE, so that participation goes in two directions. In this way there is an interaction between artist and student and there is the possibility to invest in underlying skills. These early adopters become our ambassadors and can become buddies themselves at a later stage. Co-creation: In this context co-creation means an artistic collaboration by artist, social worker and student, who does not act as an audience (observing), but as a participant (participant). With participation in content, form and process. This ensures that the reciprocity aspect is safeguarded and indicates equality. We use the (shared) context as a mediation tool. Our artists, experienced with participatory projects, have been carefully selected to maximize the creative potential of the students. This is done through very open communication. Thus, the participatory process is not only used for an artistic goal, but also for personal development and the setting up of social network
Our main research question was; ‘In what way can creativity contribute to personal development in achieving life goals and basic skills’? On top of that, we wanted to explore the possibility of the transformation of our Literacy houses in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany in to centers of development. We would truly reach impact if at least one of these would take the position of a creativity coach into account, after the project was done. Goals in the project; • Set up a structural cooperation between a formal education institute and non-formal education institutes through cultural education, creativity and arts. • Gain insight into the connection between acquiring skills on one hand and the influence of creativity on learning processes and acquiring skills on the other hand. • Pioneer in new educational forms, in a broader context of a participatory and inclusive society. • Inspire organizations, agencies, governments and other actors and wanted to use the outcome of the project to remove barriers to focus on underlying competencies. With outcomes for learners; for example increased resilience, responsibility and talents. For organizations; explore and connect on knowledge through collaboration and for society.
There are several reasons why we wanted to write a project on the positive effects of creativity/art/culture in the learning process of illiterate newcomers: • they face significant challenges when it comes to learning new skills and adapting to their new environment. By exploring the potential benefits of creative processes, we would be able to develop strategies to help these individuals overcome these challenges and improve their overall learning outcomes. • the integration of newcomers into society: this can be difficult, particularly for individuals who are illiterate and may struggle with communication or understanding cultural norms. By providing opportunities for participation in creative processes, we could help newcomers feel more connected to their new community and improve their sense of belonging. • well-being: it has shown to have a positive impact on mental health and well-being. By exploring the potential benefits, we would be able to promote the use of these strategies as a way to improve well-being and quality of life. • To contribute to the development of new approaches to adult education: we could test to contribute to the development of new approaches to adult education that are more effective and engaging.