Context The pandemic has highlighted the necessity to digitalise not only the learning processes and youth work of young people, but also the work of social organisations, such as NGOs, social enterprises, and associations. The digital advocacy can be an instrument to promote social inclusion among youth, and the creative nature of this methodology can encourage the development of artistic/creative and digital competencies useful for active citizenship and the professional development of youth. Taking into consideration social obstacles (people subject to discrimination because of their gender, age, ethnical belonging, religion, sexual orientation, disability etc., people with limited social skills, antisocial behaviours or at risk, people in precarious situations, ex criminal, ex addict, young parents or single parents, orphans), the project focuses on the promotion of a change to make the society more inclusive through a virtual museom, where European youth will be able to exhibit their art and participate in an European contest. Objectives 1) Create a virtual museum that can engage, connect and empower youth through art and creativity 2) Create sustainable connections between youth workers, schools and social organisations on an European level 3) Promote art and creativity as tools for learning and the development of digital competences Profile of the participants European young people between 13 and 25 years old. The project is directed to European young people, belonging to the countries partner of CreActive 2.1 and others. Given the big age gap, the activities will be developed for two subcategories (13-17 and 18-25). Particular attention will be given to at least 30 youth with fewer opportunities, especially with social obstacles. Other target groups will be: Art teachers Art teachers of secondary schools will be included in the project as key actors for the implementation of the project itself. Art teachers will involve the subcategory of young people aged 13-17, will promote the work of their students, and incentivise the use of art as tool for digital advocacy for social inclusion. Social organisations The inclusion of social organisations, which includes NFPs, social enterprises, foundations and associations, will allow to amplify the aim of the project, reaching youth with social obstacles, and support the awareness raising of young people regarding the topics of their work. During the project, the target groups will be involved in the creation of a cross-sectoral network between schools, social organisations, and informal young people. Methodology The methodology of the project forecasts a phase of preparation of the virtual museum, through the online learning of website building competences of the informal groups of young people, the research and exchange of ideas regarding virtual museums and the preparation of the content. Successively, through the network of 4 different countries, will be organised the art contest for the young people, focussed on two subcategories, depending on age. The contest will include the creation of art pieces around the topic of social inclusion, and will be focussed on the promotion of change and the advocacy for social inclusion. Besides the art pieces, the young people will write a text in English, supported by the informal groups of young people, explaining the social problem identified and what action - at political or other level - their art piece aims to encourage to make society more inclusive. Finally, the works will be voted through a peer review, which will allow the youth to have an active role in the evaluation of their works, as to vote they will have to give an artistic motivation (why do they like the work) and a social inclusion motivation (what change does it inspire? How does it tackle the problem?). The winners will be announced during a final online conference, and all youth will receive a Youthpass certificate. Results and impact The results at the end of the project will be a virtual museum for youth that tackle the topic of social inclusion and a network of youth, social organisations and art teachers in the framework of art and creativity as tools for digital advocacy for the promotion of social inclusion. The young people who will participate in the contest will develop digital competences, active citizenship competences, they will connect with young people of other EU countries to discuss topics of social and European relevance, and will use their creativity as instrument for active citizenship.
Dalla proposta progettuale, il nostro progetto aveva l’obiettivo di dare voce ai giovani europei attraverso la loro creatività, così che potessero esprimere le loro opinioni e prospettive riguardo le sfide all’inclusione sociale. Questo obiettivo era diviso in tre obiettivi più specifici: Creare un museo virtuale che possa mobilitare, collegare e responsabilizzare i giovani attraverso l’arte e la creatività Creare connessioni sostenibili tra animatori giovanili scuole ed enti di utilità sociale Promuovere l’arte e la creatività come esperienze di apprendimento e sviluppo di competenze digitali. Siamo felici di confermare che tutti e tre questi obiettivi sono stati raggiunti
Questo progetto è stato sviluppato dal nostro gruppo di giovani per creare una nuova opportunità per giovani in Europa per essere creativi e promuovere l’inclusione sociale tramite azioni virtuali che permettano ai partecipanti di fare “advocacy virtuale” a livello europeo e connettersi con altri giovani senza dover ricorrere a mobilità (esempio i scambi giovanili). Nello specifico, il progetto aveva identificato le necessità create dalla pandemia (esempio più divario sociale), così come la necessità di sviluppare competenze digitali per prendere parte ad attività transnazionali. Infine, il progetto prendeva in considerazione l’arte e la creatività come strumenti di attivismo politico e sociale. In questo contesto, il progetto ha risposto anche il quadro di riferimento per le competenze digitali dei cittadini e alla creazione di nuove connessioni tra animatori giovanili, giovani e scuole. Infine, questo nostro progetto prevedeva di contribuire al dialogo riguardo l’inclusione sociale in Europa e coinvolgere giovani di età diverse (13-17 e 18-25) a sviluppare un pensiero critico e creativo non solo verso i problemi sociali, ma anche riguardo le soluzioni