Mercator Foundation: Arts for Education!

The international symposium addressed the political and social responsibility for cultural education in Europe at the Philharmonie in Essen.

The Stiftung Mercator organized it in cooperation with NEC.

Approx 350 experts were invited by the Mercator Foundation to Essen to discuss the fundamental importance of cultural education for teaching and learning. With the symposium, the Mercator Foundation created public awareness for the field of cultural education.

Concept of the event: Not only talk about young people, but also talk with them.

The interaction of all social forces involved in cultural education, as well as cooperation with teachers, artists, cultural practitioners, and institutions involved in the mediation process, is just as important as taking an international perspective into account.

Children and young people are the target group of cultural education work; their demands and wishes are at the center of attention. For this reason, the Youth Symposium Arts for Education! took place at the same time as the International Symposium. One hundred young people between the ages of 16 and 20 from 33 European countries and Israel met here to discuss their expectations and wishes regarding cultural education. The event Arts for Education! was a collaboration between the Mercator Foundation and the Goethe-Institut.

Photos: NEC, Stiftung Mercator