CisU - Culture is YOU

<< Background >>Culture is for everyone, not just for a particular group of people. People with restrictions, such as migrant background, low qualification level, long-term employment, and economic barriers, rarely have access to culture. Funding programs exist to promote cross-border access to culture, but they often fall short. Culture is often seen as something abstract, for an elite group.Cultural education is more important than ever as Europe faces crises leading to polarisation and destabilisation, such as the migration crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. Promoting a common, diverse cultural identity in Europe is urgent, especially for those on society's margins. It is essential that people with any restrictions feel that they are part of the whole.There are rarely any offers for cultural education for young adults (18-35) with restrictions. Cultural education is often limited to work-related skills or language courses. Research shows that there are no freely accessible, digitally available materials for adults. This project therefore aims to develop materials for cultural education to demonstrate that culture is not abstract and elitist. But enjoyable and accessible to all, emphasising that everyone is part of cultural life.<< Objectives >>To say so there was one main goal of this project: To foster cultural awareness and cultural understanding for those on society’s margins, especially young adults between 18-35 years with any restrictions e.g. migrant background, low qualification level, long-term employment and economic barriers. By making cultural education possible, the impact is not only on individuals who participate in cultural education processes but also on society at large. People get better included in society, have more self-confidence, and have better access to the labour market, and career advances are more likely. The specific objectives of the project were the following: *Inclusion of young adults (18-35) with different restrictions into the colourful EuropeBringing European culture closer to people with restrictions letting them be an active part of cultural life and allowing them to shape culture. *Providing adult educators with a teaching concept and materials regarding cultural education. They can use the materials directly in their everyday teaching.* Raising awareness of the importance of culture* Supporting the acceptance of the variety of cultures in Europe<< Implementation >>To be able to create appropriate materials that promote cultural education for young adults (18-35) who face various restrictions (migrant background, low qualification level, long-term employment and economic barriers). and adult educators who are working with these learners, it was important to involve them in all of the project’s activities: The DIDACTIC CONCEPT and the CURRICULUM developed in PR1 were the basis for the learning materials (10 modules), the videos, the game and the workshop materials (concept) developed in the other results. To assess the special needs of the project’s target groups and to ensure the practical relevance of these results, interviews with 3 adult educators and 3 adult learners in AT, CZ, ES and PL were conducted. The interviews were all about the methodology and the contents that should be included in the materials. In PR2, the main outputs were learning materials (10 modules on different cultural topics) and videos that contributed to the further development of cultural competencies and increased interest in cultural activities among adult learners with restrictions. To ensure a high potential of use and attractiveness of these materials and videos, adult educators (2 per country) and young adult learners (10 per country) tested the materials. In PR3 a haptic board game including 40 questions on different categories (Art, Geography, History, European culture), token (prizes), game instructions and a box for the game was created. The game was also pilot-tested by adult educators (2 per partner organisation) and young adult learners (40 in total). The haptic board game aimed to make it as user-friendly and fun as possible. PR4 contains of a workshop concept – one for a face-to-face workshop and one for an online setting – that can be directly used by adult educators and their educational programmes. Both workshop concepts include materials (worksheets, handouts, presentations, guiding questions, icebreaker, and step-by-step descriptions for workshop activities) that can be directly used by adult educators without any preparation. Furthermore, a guide was created that shows adult education trainers how to use the learning materials (modules, the game and the workshop concept) most effectively and the interrelations between the different project results.To ensure again a high practical relevance the adult education trainers and young adults tested the materials within their courses and gave feedback on the quality and impact of the created results. An international online exchange event was also organised, involving all the adult educators who had tested the materials. The aim was that the adult education trainers got an opportunity to exchange their experiences of the piloting and build new networks. During the multiplier events and other dissemination activities, all developed materials were shared with interested people.<< Results >>The project developed four main results: *PR1: DESIGN cultural knowledge building with the two main outputs of a didactic concept and a curriculum. A didactic-methodological design was developed to find the best way to convey cultural content to the target group. In addition, concrete cultural topics with learning objectives have already been developed. The outputs of PR1 were the basis for three other project results. To get a detailed idea of the content to be covered in PR1, the first step was a literature review on cultural access for restricted groups in AT, CZ; ES and PL, existing measures to improve accessibility, the definition of culture, and assess integration opportunities, costs, and government actions to promote cultural participation. Further, 6 interviews in each partner country were conducted. 3 interviews with adult educators with expertise in cultural education and 3 learners between 18 and 35 years affected by any restriction. This was an essential part of ensuring the practical relevance of all project results, especially for the learning materials in PR2. *PR2: LEARN about culture: Based on PR1 this project result focused on creating learning materials to give the target group a comprehensive overview of European culture and the possibility of developing cultural competencies. The learning materials include 10 Content Units (modules) on different aspects of culture and an extra module on a brief history of AT, CZ, ES and PL. Further, the learning materials include 10 videos that present the various aspects of culture in audiovisual form. *PR3: PLAY to experience culture: A board game on European culture has been developed to encourage active participation and discussion on culture. The board game relates to the learning materials in PR2. To ensure easy access and multiple applications in different educational settings, the board game is downloadable and printable. The focus is on playful knowledge transfer. The board game consists of 40 question cards with four different categories on art, geography, history and European culture. Each question category also includes 3 interactive questions that call for action. The main outputs of PR3 were the board game itself, question cards, detailed instructions, a box and tokens (prizes). *PR4: GUIDE to implement cultural education: To increase more cultural education classes and the interest of young adults (18-35) with restrictions in culture two workshop concepts were developed. One for a face-to-face workshop and one for an online setting, each for a five-day workshop that adult education trainers can directly use without any need for adaptions. To make it easier for adult education trainers to include cultural education in their everyday teaching different kinds of materials e.g. handouts, working sheets, presentations etc. were developed. The guide is another main output of PR4 that aims to show adult education trainers how to use the learning materials (modules, the game and the workshop concept) and the interrelations between the different project results.