PRESS RELEASE
1st Transnational Meeting of the Partners of the European Program Erasmus + “Art Beyond Gaze” (ABeyGΑ) which is coordinated by the Regional Directorate of Primary & Secondary Education of Thessaly
On Monday 26.04.2021 from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. the kick-off meeting of the European program Art Beyond Gaze (ABeyGA) took place by teleconference ˙ this is the first transnational working meeting of the program which belongs to the strategic partnerships in the youth sector (Key Action 2: Strategic Partnerships in Youth Sector / 2020-1 -EL02_KA227-YOU-006820) with a duration of twenty four (24) months (from 1.04.2021 to 31.03.2023). This program is organized and coordinated by the group of European programs of the Regional Directorate of Primary & Secondary Education of Thessaly, which consists of members: Xesfingouli Dimitra – seconded Teacher, branch PE70 and Promoter of European Programs, Chatzopoulou Ioanna-permanent Administrator ,branch PE1-Dioikitiko and Belogia Katerina-seconded Teacher, branch PE86.
The general framework of the program concerns the holistic and at the same time alternative reception of artistic creation as a way of expressing the deepest feelings of modern people and as a means of relieving the tension that comes from his daily life. The reason is that art either as an aesthetic pleasure or as a personal creation is not only a tool of verbal and non-verbal communication but also an alternative way of emotional expression that can utilize all the senses. In addition, art in all its forms (such as painting, sculpture, photography, music, dance or digital art) can support therapeutic goals especially for young people with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Difficulties). After all, education in and through art is a guaranteed universal right of all students / people, including those who are often deprived of it, such as immigrants and people marginalized for economic, social or political reasons.
Nowadays, in a world of digital technology, art can be supported by many innovative methods, tools and practices ensuring school and social integration to a greater extent. Given the familiarity of young people with technology, digital art is a unique opportunity to address discrimination due to its global reach and thanks to its easy accessibility. The special circumstances that were created by the COVID 19 pandemic highlighted the importance of digital artistic creation as a means of communication and expression and as a bridge that unites people and nations around the world.
Taking into account this important function of art, the “Art Beyond Gaze” program sets the following goals:
- To approach the artistic creation in an alternative way by utilizing all the senses both in the art workshops and in the cultural environments in general (eg in museums, cultural centers, etc.) supporting mainly young people with SEND, in order to join in the school and social environment.
- To design, implement and evaluate alternative activities (approaching art holistically and interactively) and to exchange good transnational practices, strategies and methods in this field.
- To involve all the senses in the approach of art (look but also touch, hearing, smell).
- To adopt a multicultural approach to artistic creation (different perception of colors, sounds, artistic materials by culture and country of origin)
- To support the effort of reproduction of well-known works by students utilizing digital technology and a variety of natural materials from the partner countries involved in the program.
- Encourage young people with SEND to interact with the wider community, using the international language of art and artistic creation as a channel of expression and communication.
In this context and based on the agenda that was agreed and sent to all partners, the 1st transnational meeting (Kick off meeting) started at 9.30 with the greeting of the Regional Director of Primary and Secondary Education of Thessaly, Dr. Georgios Dodontsakis, who stressed the dimension of European programs. Mrs. Xesfingouli, as the coordinator of the meeting, presented the program as reflected in the agenda and then gave the floor to the partners in order to present their organization, related to the Art Beyond Gaze program, their activities as well as the people who will participate in implementation of the projects of this program.
Apart from the Regional Directorate of Education of Thessaly (PDETh) -who is the coordinator of the project- the partners participating in the Art Beyond Gaze program are the following:
- ASSOCIAZIONE COAT from Italy
- BLUE ROOM INNOVATION SL from Spain
- UNIVERSITY LUMIERE LYON 2 from France
- OPEN UP from Greece
- INTEGRA from Spain
- ESCOLA ART I SUPERIOR DE DISSENY D ’OLOT also from Spain.
The presentation of the organizations was followed by the description of the main structural axes of the program.
Special emphasis was given to the derivative works which are:
- IO 1: “Train the Trainer” guide for teachers and trainers that focuses on how to organize and implement holistic artistic activities in the school environment (formal education) but also in a non-school environment (non-formal education) that will support the use of all the senses in the approach to art.
- ΙΟ 2: “Digital Game for Young Learners” that will focus on creating innovative and original digital artwork (such as 3D animation and games) based on high-tech technology, special software and graphic design programs, making artistic creation more interesting and more easily accessible to young people especially with SEND.
- ΙΟ3: “Evaluating Videos” for teachers, trainers, new apprentices, who will evaluate the ease of use, innovation and holism in the approach of art-related educational material as well as the effectiveness of the approaches.
- ΙΟ 4: “Digital Art Folder” an electronic repository in the form of an electronic library that will contain all the digital artistic creations (images, sounds, texts, videos) that will be produced in the art workshops of the partners but will also allow the search and dissemination of these works of art by any interested party.
This was followed by a discussion on the content and implementation of the two training activities (Training): Digital Training Activities (from COAT – Italy) and “Art Workshops” (from ESCOLA d’ART d’OLOT – Spain).
Issues of financial content, issues of project management and cooperation between the partners occupied the discussion of the second part, mainly, with emphasis on the dissemination actions and the organization of the platform of the “Art Beyond Gaze” program, which ended with a tour of the partners in it as well as in the electronic document repository.
