‘Young Thespians’ was conceptualised with the intention to support diversity and inclusion of youth, particularly those with fewer opportunities due to ethnicity, race, language, gender and religion, through performing arts education. Performing arts encompass ‘theatre, dance, performance and spoken word’ and include numerous cultural expressions ‘that reflect human creativity’ (UNESCO, n. d.) and its education allows for learning new skills that promote cohesion, inclusion and diversity. EC and RE envisioned to combine their expertise in evidence-based research, arts education and performing arts respectively, to address the needs of the performing arts education sector, as well as youth in both Austria and Iceland. Through the activities of the project, we wanted to provide creative performative practices for marginalised youth, who have suffered due to the growing diversification of Europe’s population, and issues such as racism, class and gender divides.
The EU has witnessed a rise in migrants recently, which has in turn diversified its society, necessitating equal access to information, education, social support, culture and arts. At the same time, concerns for inclusivity and acceptance towards this diverse population has brought about challenges that affect many age groups, who have experienced marginalisation in a multitude of ways, but also in access and participation in culture activities. One of these has been youth, who face similar difficulties when it comes to the field of performing arts. Icelandic and Austrian youth with a foreign background are at higher risk of marginalization as most cultural projects are targeted towards young kids or adults. This project linked theory with practitioners in performing arts education to address this need, making use of the unique strengths of both EDUCULT (EC) and Reykjavik Ensemble (RE), who focus on culture and inclusivity in their work.