Twenty Five Cultural Experiences by the Age of Twenty Five

Background Through this project, we aimed to provide a framework for cultural experiences for young people, to help them achieve 25 cultural experiences by the age of 25 years old. The project partnership has come together to solve a common need to help young people expand their horizons and increase their transversal skills and competences. The project aims to engage young people aged 16 to 25 who are not in employment, education or training who also have fewer opportunities due to social, cultural, and economic obstacles. Indirect target groups are cultural teachers and trainers, as well as youth workers and their organisations. These stakeholders have the capacity to reach and influence the direct target groups in terms of promoting cultural activities and opportunity locally, within a Europe context. Objectives Through this project we aimed to achieve and address the following needs : - Increased awareness of cultural opportunities amongst direct and indirect target groups in their local area, and across Europe. - Increased understanding of the benefits of engagement in cultural activities amongst the direct and indirect target groups in their local area, and across Europe. - Provision of a framework for integration of cultural engagement into existing curriculums in VET providers and schools in their local area, and across Europe. - Increasing cross-sectoral engagement between the arts and culture and educational sector through an integrated culture-focused place-based curriculum. Implementation In order to meet the needs and produce the below outlined result we have implemented different activities within the lifespan of the project which can be listed as - but not limited to: - creation of guide feedback forms and face to face questionnaire and reviews (piloting activity), - engaging and planning stakeholder meetings (management activity), - researching new subscribers for our Newsletters to be added onto a personalised Newsletter list per each country organisation (dissemination activity). Achievements 1. Best Practices Handbook on Cultural Activity Engagement in Europe This best practices handbook gathered and analysed the state of the art in cultural opportunities and activities, as well as the level of engagement from those, across Europe. The best practices identified through the research phase of this output helped creating cultural activity engagement best practices, which formed the basis of the other project outputs. 2. Matrix of Cultural Activities across Europe. The project partners developed one single Matrix for Europe, which will include 25 cultural activities/opportunities per partner country. The matrix will also categorise the activities, so that it can be used easily to assess and decide on the most suitable cultural activities and opportunity through which young people can be engaged. 3. Framework for a Place-based Cultural Activity Curriculum. This output produced a framework for the development of a place-based curriculum for young people, which will allow cultural trainers and education organisations to develop their own place-based curriculum for learning through cultural activities. Place-based Cultural Activity Curriculum: Developed a place-based activity curriculum for each of the partner organisations' local regions, using and showcasing the framework and digital tool developed in IO3 & IO4. 4. The 25by25 Platform. This output aimed at youth workers, cultural teachers and trainers to be able to build their own place-based curriculum, with a focus on their specific location in the partner country. The platform is a digital tool, through which users can develop their own place-based curriculum (focusing on cultural opportunities and experiences), based on the framework developed in IO3. Teachers and trainers are able to draw upon the framework of cultural activities created in IO2, and can then adapt and edit the modular framework created by the partnership in IO3, to suit their local/regional requirements for the place-based curriculum they want to create. This platform also act as a repository for all the Place-based Cultural Activity Curricula developed as part of IO3, where teachers and trainers who are developing or planning to develop their own place-based cultural activity curriculum, can draw inspiration or take aspects of place-based curricula which are already stored within the platform.