Exploring Cinéma, Cent Ans de Jeunesse

Europe's cultural richness and diversity is an achievement of our developed democracies. But Europe needs an education system that embraces all the people who live here and gives them equal opportunities and chances to participate, especially in the arts and culture. It is a big task, and there is still much to be done. The schools, cultural institutions and universities involved in E*CCAJ from four different European countries have come together to play their part in the inclusion of young, disadvantaged students - through the power of arts education. Some young people in European schools are invisible to each other and even to themselves. Through creative encounters between young people from different schools, through their participation in cinema as art, the CCAJ programme enabled young students to see themselves and each other, to share their lives, passions and identities - both on screen and behind the scenes. Teachers were equipped with pedagogical tools and expertise. E*CCAJ initiated a European learning community across geographical borders and sectors.

The renowned CCAJ film training project was transferred to a new European constellation and methodologically developed. New reusable products and training formats have been created. The positive impact of this film education project and its specific methodology on disadvantaged students in terms of key competences, empowerment and inclusion has been explored in an exemplary way. The implicit empirical knowledge that has grown over the years in the pedagogical management / tandems of participating artists and teachers was made explicit in the report and could be shared. The pedagogical significance of the project and its multiple dimensions could now be better categorised. It has been opened up for further research and has served to develop research perspectives and methods for aesthetic film education. All those involved in the project (students, teachers, filmmakers, educators, cultural organisations, universities) have engaged in an intensive research and learning process on film education and have broadened their horizons, networks, etc. through their participation in this European project and the mobility associated with it.

E*CCAJ implemented teacher training in film education and long-term learning activities for disadvantaged students in four European countries: Portugal, Bulgaria, France and Germany. This was accompanied by a research-based evaluation (observation, interviews) organised by two universities in France and Germany. We also organised an international cross-sectoral in-depth exchange and reflection on methodologies and pedagogical approaches to Arts Education & Inclusion.

The research-based evaluation ensured a continuous monitoring of the project, specifically adapted to assess the impact of long-term aesthetic film education, especially with regard to disadvantaged students. It covered the students, the teacher-artist tandems, the team and the partners involved in the project. It helped to develop the project and make it accessible to a wider audience of multipliers (teachers, artists, cultural workers, academics). See also the evaluation report in the annex. Audio-visual resources (Open Educational Resource 1) were produced and put online that have already been explored in CCAJ workshops around the world and have served as a common thread for discovering cinema: “Sensation in Cinema”. It is now freely available on the CCAJ website for teachers who are looking for pedagogical tools to imagine actions of cinema education with their students. This subject aimed to develop a more sensitive approach to films and the world around them. https://www.cinemacentansdejeunesse.org/en/resources/all-the-questions/sensation/ressources.html Furthermore, a masterclass with the German director Wim Wenders was produced and put in the website: https://www.cinemacentansdejeunesse.org/en/resources/filmmaker%27s-perspectives.html It explains the principles of the theme, illustrated by film clips.