Newletter 02/2019

Dear colleagues, partners and friends of EDUCULT,

summer is here, which we notice especially in the fact that at the end of the season a lot still has to happen and needs to be completed – and yes, it is also quite hot these days. Nevertheless, we are pleased to inform you once again about current discourses and projects in the fields of art, culture, education and politics before the summer break begins.

We will read each other in September and hopefully meet again at one or the other opportunity in the new season – if it is in Ancona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Tampere or Vienna!

We wish you an inspiring reading,

Your EDUCULT team

EDUCULT IN ACTION provides current information on our projects.

EDUCULT TALKS introduces people with diverse backgrounds.

EDUCULT IN EXCHANGE informs about international exchange and co-operations.

EDUCULT INFORMS about international affairs, projects and meetings.

Wimmer’s Quarterly

Between Appearance and Reality: why cultural mediators shouldn’t fall on their own lines

Recently, the Vienna Museums Quartier organized a children’s culture parcours. The art and cultural institutions based here presented their diverse offerings for and with children and invited people to participate. All these initiatives made it clear that in recent years the significance of artistic activities for children has changed dramatically. Children have simply become an integral part of the cultural scene; many institutions can no longer be imagined without them.

And the children drew, tinkered, drilled, and hammered. It was obviously fun for them – and all the while the mediators felt confirmed in their commitment to giving the children free rein over their creativity.

[read more]

EDUCULT in Action

Salon of Cultures – “From a Good House”

Under the title “From a Good House”, the artists Omar Al Kaissi, Sandra Kirsheh and Suzuka Hisamatsu present some of their current work as part of the Salon of Cultures. The exhibition opened on the 13th of June 2019 in EDUCULT’s gallery room and will be on display until the end of November. The artists’ pieces, curated by Osama Zatar, consider the influence of social conditions and conventions on art. [read more]

Goethe Institute Cairo

EDUCULT was commissioned by the Goethe-Institute Cairo to conduct a training seminar for the Egyptian Ministry of Education. In mid-July, a four-day workshop on evaluation techniques, survey methods and evaluation will take place on location. Together with an Egyptian colleague, the workshop concept and the materials will be developed in advance. Following the course, the Goethe-Institute will receive a report on the results of the seminar.

work::sounds – How does the working world sound?

Around 190 pupils from five Viennese schools had the opportunity to use their creativity to engage with their future working environments this year. In a studio workshop directed by the musicians Max Walch (part of the monophobe collective) and Tobias Wöhrer, the sounds and noises of the working world were transformed and recorded live into short video clips. The resulting musical pieces and video clips are online! [read more]

BRIDGING

In May 2019 EDUCULT welcomed the participating partner organisations from the BRIDGING project to Vienna. This last project partner meeting initiated the final stages of the two-year project. The time spent together in Vienna was used to reflect on the challenges and opportunities in international cooperation within the Erasmus+ system. It was also an opportunity to review the core results of the project in regard to potential follow-up activities. These can be found in the project publications: the State of the Art Report; the five Thematic Compendia on inter-social, inter-generational, inter-regional, inter-cultural and inter-European cultural activities and in the Curricula Report. [read more]

Co-Create

The partner organisations from Denmark, Finland and Austria have published a joint report on good practice in co-creative cooperation between public administrations and civil society actors in the field of culture. Aside from practice-related country reports, the piece considers the theoretical implications of the term “co-creation,” while also presenting the competence profiles of civil society actors interested in co-creative work. [read more]

EDUCULT Talks

EDUCULT spoke with Agnieszka and Maciej Salamon, a Polish-born actor couple who have spent the past 18 years in Vienna. They discussed their history and lives in Austria, as well as the Polish and Viennese acting scenes and the implications of the current political changes in Poland and Austria for them personally.  [read more]

EDUCULT in Exchange

All Together

On May 25^th, 2019 the final workshop of the German-Turkish Initiative for Cooperation in Refugee Aid “All Together”, supported by the Mercator Foundation and evaluated by EDUCULT, took place. Veronika Ehm and Marlene Kalnein participated for EDUCULT, presenting materials that had been developed in six project groups with different partner organisations from both countries to be used in formal and non-formal (cultural) education. [read more]

Cities of the Future

On June 6^th and 7^th EDUCULT participated in “Cities of the Future”, an event hosted by the City of London Corporation. Participants came from cities across Europe including Bamberg (Germany), Eindhoven (Netherlands), Linz and Vienna (Austria), Nacka (Sweden), Oulu (Finland), Reykjavik (Iceland), as well as Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Dundee, London and Newcastle (UK). The attendees exchanged ideas pertaining to the promotion of innovation, especially concerning links between education, business and culture.   The meeting also focused on fusion skills – on developing a national and international standard for these skills including a fusion assessment tool (influencing schools and lifelong learning). It will focus on WHAT and HOW through a series of case studies, highlighting strategies used and best practices. Michael Wimmer took part in the event, discussing the successes and obstacles Vienna faces in this regard.

International Children’s Culture Forum

Are culture and arts education inclusive? How can we ensure the cultural rights of children in different countries? What does the future of children’s culture and arts education look like? The first International Children’s Culture Forum in Finland takes place in the city of Tampere in fall 2019. The forum aims to widen international cooperation and to deepen understanding of the value of children’s rights and their role in a well-functioning society. Dr. Aron Weigl of EDUCULT will give a lecture at the forum titled, “Worldwide cultural rights for children: arts education as a challenge of transcultural relations.”  [read more]

EDUCULT Informs

Conference on Cultural Policy and Sustainable Development

This conference considers the major role of culture in sustainable development. The artist’s task in transformative processes is to mobilize peoples’ creativity, thus ensuring community welfare, innovation and pluralism. The conference will pay specific attention to challenges in African societies concerning ethnic and religious conflicts as well as social marginalisation and displacement. Scholars of the Graduate School “performing sustainability” from West Africa and researchers of the Master’s program “Cultural Policy and Cultural Management” from the Arab Region as well as academics from Germany will offer insight on the aforementioned topics. The conference will take place on July 8^th and 9^th at the Federal Academy for Cultural Education in Wolfenbüttel.  [read more]

Culture – Crops – Agora: Open Call for Projects in Non-Urban Territories

Culture – Crops – Agora is an informal forum that showcases local and European projects acting within non-urban territories. They are looking for cultural projects reflecting cultural and social innovation with large audiences outside of urban environments. The aim of the agora is to bring together different perspectives from arts, heritage, agriculture, research, politics, and activism, to mix initiatives from Switzerland and Germany with similar projects coming from all over Europe as well as to create an open space for networking. Participation in the agora is free of charge and takes place on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at DreiSpitz in Kreuzlingen. Submit your proposals by July 22, 2019 in order to be considered. [read more]

Call for Proposals: PhD Scholarships

The interdisciplinary graduate school “Performing Sustainability: Cultures and Development in West Africa” will be offering twelve 10-month scholarships for African students at the PhD level. The scholarships are available for the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria and the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The scholarships will commence in March 2020 until December 2020, with the possibility of extension for up to three years depending on the funding agency. The initiative is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and focuses on innovative research utilizing techniques in performance, arts and culture to foster sustainable development as defined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A specific area of concentration for the graduate school is peace and conflict resolution. The deadline for application is July 31, 2019. [read more]