Cultural Diplomacy
Res publica reloaded
The Villa Decius Association is one of the partners of the international project “Res publica reloaded – European public spaces as source of empowerment”, coordinated by the German organization Arbeit und Leben.
About project:
The Grundtvig Lifelong Learning partnership project supports non-vocational education for adults. Activities within this international partnership focus on raising the topic of connections between cultural and political education, as well as the connotations between formal and informal forms of teaching. Project participants will attempt to look at and then use public art strategies (broadly understood as street art) in constructing institutionalized artistic strategies and new education methods. The partnership aims to enable international mobility, meetings of representatives of institutions involved in the project and their students, and the organization of workshops.
In addition, a digital platform will be created to enable discussion and exchange of documents, works of art, photos, video materials, etc. This platform will also serve to disseminate and document the achieved results, and it is intended that it will continue to operate after the project ends. Documentation will also be developed, including a description of practical methods that can be implemented in various environments, which will be made available to promoters of cultural and political education and the Life Long Learning community in Europe.
Project partners:
– Arbeit und Leben is a continuing education institution run by the German trade union federation (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund – DGB) and adult learning centers (Volkshochschule – VHS) in North Rhine-Westphalia. Arbeit und Leben has many years of experience in the field of cultural and political education and has organized several large-scale European projects. The main target groups of the organization’s projects are immigrants, older people, adult learners and women. More information: www.arbeitundleben.de
– Imagine IC is a pioneer in promoting contemporary intangible heritage. The institution is based in Bijlmer, a culturally diverse neighborhood in southeast Amsterdam, and is dedicated to documenting the lives of middle-aged members of the urban community. Together with them, Imagine IC organizes exhibitions and discussions on topics proposed by residents. Drawing on its activities and related resources of visual and audio materials, Imagine IC seeks to create a concept of democratic heritage and practice, and a holistic understanding of Dutch collective identity. In the science partnership, Imagine IC will be responsible for running the digital platform; Moreover, Imagine IC will also host one of the workshops organized in Amsterdam. More information: www.imagineic.nl
– Villa Decius Association