Cultural education
Culture and education are closely intertwined all along citizens’ life. The cultural sector represents a world of thousands of opportunities to learn, be they formal, non-formal or informal. The outcomes of these practices are more and more acknowledged in the educational systems and ought to be better exploited.
Initiation to culture and the arts start from early childhood education and care is acknowledged across the EU as an essential part of the curricula. Arts can also be used to improve the acquisition of transversal competences, crucial to foster one’s creativity and sense of appreciation of cultural diversity.
Their use can contribute to develop a whole set of key competences, from basic (i.e. language skills through acting) to transversal skills (i.e. logic through juggling). This goes notably through the improvement of educators/teachers’ training by sensitizing them to the importance of culture and favouring their collaboration with artists.
The Platform emphasises also the crucial role of culture in broadening the access to lifelong learning, especially for the most disadvantaged groups. Bridging education and culture strategies and policies at EU level to upgrade our people’s transversal skills, increase their employability but also and especially make them socially included, fulfilled individuals and active citizens is essential in that respect.