Cultural Education and Participation

Barbara Neundlinger

Within the framework of the European Agenda for Culture, the European Union specifies “access to culture” as an important objective.

The Platform on Access to Culture, one of three civil society platforms working complementarily to the groups of experts nominated by the member states, is examining issues related to the cultural participation of a broad population group, one of which has to do with providing access to cultural institutions. Given the fact that – as the experts recommend – the focus in this respect should be placed on children and young people, who up to now have not been taking much advantage of such institutions, there is a need for special preparatory steps and suitable educational initiatives to interest this segment of the public in culture and cultural activities, initiatives that go beyond mere target-group-specific advertising.

Here is where new synergies between culture and education can be developed. Learning through art and culture opens up new perspectives for children and young people. They discover new (key) competences in themselves. This, in turn, awakens interests and arouses curiosity. Once children and young people become interested in participating in cultural activities, they begin to find cultural institutions attractive and seek “access” on their own initiative.

KulturKontakt Austria (KKA) invites children and young people to participate actively in cultural processes, for example in the context of “dialogue events” in the schools, where they come into contact with artists, or in partnerships between schools and cultural institutions, through the programme p[ART]. The focus in these programmes is on participation: from participation in discussions through participation in cultural processes to participation in decision-making – this is the way that children and young people can learn what participation means and develop an interest in becoming involved in cultural activities on their own initiative. And it is also an important precondition for becoming open to other opportunities for participation in society in later years.

KKA has been contributing these experiences to the European discourse initiated by the Agenda for Culture. For the first time, the discourse itself is becoming participative, in the context of the “Open Method of Coordination”, and is being filled with life through the involvement of civil society. The Platform on Access to Culture – also in cooperation with the group of experts on “Synergies between Education and Culture”, is working on subjects that are relevant for the future in Europe: cultural participation, education as well as access to and participation in culture.