Members

The Austrian Observatory for Arts and Cultural Education is formed by EDUCULT, a non-profit institute with emphasis on empirical research and consulting in the fields of culture and education, and the OeAD, an agency of the Republic of Austria with its “Cultural Education with Schools” department focusing on the support practice in the fields of culture and education, in cooperation with the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Our objective is to raise awareness of the field in the public and political sphere by

• Networking with relevant stakeholders on a national level
• Stimulating the discourse in the field by organizing events, publishing reports, etc.
• Collaboration with the Austrian Commission for UNESCO:
  • Raising awareness for the annual UNESCO International Week of Arts Education by specific action taken
  • Collaboration in the UNESCO Framework/Roadmap for Culture and Arts Education
  • Representation of arts and cultural education in the Austrian UNESCO working group “Cultural Diversity” in the context of the UNESCO-Convention 2005 “Diversity of Cultural Expressions”
• Initiation of a systematic exchange on research projects and results at the level of Austrian universities
• Contribution to specific ENO action fields related to the relationship of research and policy, of researchers and politicians/public servants as cooperation partners or commissioning bodies
• Participation in ENO meetings and related working groups

The OeAD has advised, supported and connected people and institutions in education, science, research and culture for 60 years with its future-oriented programmes. As an agency of the Republic of Austria the OeAD thus contributes to inclusive, equal and high-quality education. The OeAD’s fields of activity are in Austria, Europe and internationally in priority countries.

On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) the “Cultural Education with Schools” department works at the interface between schools, the arts and culture. In this context participatory cultural education projects and activities with schools throughout Austria are conceived, accompanied, promoted, and given advisory and organisational support.

Work in this field is based on the central principle that children and young people should be encouraged to participate actively in artistic and cultural processes and foster their competences, taking the circumstances of their own lives as a point of departure. The projects are carried out in cooperation with artists and cultural professionals as well as with artistic and cultural institutions.

The University College of Teacher Education Vienna (Pädagogische Hochschule Wien), as a leading institution in teacher training in Austria, offers a wide range of training and further education programmes for teachers. With a particular focus on primary school and vocational schoolteachers, the PHW diversifies its teaching programmes across a variety of subject areas, with a special interest in artistic and expression-oriented subjects. This university is not only an institution of importance on a national level, but also on an international level through its co-operation with over 90 partner universities in Europe. These collaborations emphasise PHW’s ambition to expand its international presence and support the global research and teaching efforts of its academic community.
PHW’s participation in Erasmus+ research initiatives such as CEFR_Visual Literacy, SOUNDWORDS_Graphic Story Telling & Inclusion, Service-Learning research alliances such as RURAL 3.0_SL, SLUSIK and SLIDE as well as the Teacher Academy ACIIS illustrates its commitment to international educational standards and the enrichment of education through global perspectives. This initiative further consolidates the PHW’s endeavours to contribute to the improvement of teaching quality and the promotion of (cultural) education at an international level.
The University College of Teacher Education Vienna (PHW) thus becomes part of the ENO network and enriches this association of European universities and institutions dedicated to teacher training and the development of educational policies. Participation in this network enables PHW to actively participate in Europe-wide discussions and initiatives to improve teacher education and to benefit from an exchange of best practices, research findings and innovative teaching methods.

More information will follow soon!

The research team Cultural Sociology and Lifestyle in the UGent Department of Sociology conducts theory-based quantitative empirical research on cultural behaviour and cultural experience, with central foci: the relationship with the social space, omnivority and lifestyles. The team collects data on cultural behaviour and attitudes both through audience research and through large-scale representative population studies, and is involved in various inter-university research consortia. Emphasis is on both fundamental research and applied policy research.

The team is since 2001 intensively involved in the Cultural Policy Research Centre (CPRC) which in 2016 transformed into the Knowledge Centre on Cultural and Media Participation. This knowledge centre is funded by the Flemish Government to conduct research on Cultural and Media participation, and the study of art/cultural education is part of the research agenda. The Knowledge Centre is an interuniversity (Ghent University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and interdisciplinary (sociology and communication sciences) research consortium currently consisting of 10 researchers (6 Professors, 1 post-doc researchers and 3 junior researchers). It is coordinated by the Department of Sociology/Research Group CuDOS at Ghent University (John Lievens & Jessy Siongers).

More information will follow soon!

ENO Denmark is led by representatives from the University of Copenhagen (Associate Professor, Dr. Charlotte Svendler Nielsen, Dept. of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports) and the Danish Cultural Institute (Strategic Advisor, Olaf Gerlach-Hansen) in cooperation.

Olaf Gerlach-Hansen was member of the Cultural Committee and later Advisory Board of the Danish National Commission of UNESCO from 1996 to 2016. The partners of ENO Denmark came together based on a UNESCO National Commission co-led program called CICLO, drawing on results of the 2nd  World Conference on Arts Education in Seoul 2010, and with the aim of testing key elements of the Seoul Agenda through Danish-International pilots with schools, artists and authorities from 2011-15.

ENO Denmark is an informal network, agreed to be so when it was established in 2015. It involves representatives from universities, national agencies, cultural institutions, and associations focused on different art forms.

 

More information will follow soon!

A New Direction is a London-based non-profit generating opportunities for children and young people to unlock their creativity. London is one of the greatest creative hubs in the world. Every day, thousands of the children and young people who live here are inspired by the city’s culture to unleash their own creative side. They have the chance to develop their skills, talents and passions, becoming people who can thrive in a challenging, changing world and boost our wider society.

But there are also thousands of young people who miss out on London’s creative opportunities. Barriers of inequality or simple lack of support stop young people from reaching their creative potential, which has knock-on effects for their chances of personal fulfilment and success in later life.

Inequality is not set in stone; we can make London into a city with equal opportunities to engage with culture and be creative for all young people and children. This is our vision. We are working towards a society where all children and young people can thrive through developing their creativity.

We work directly with the organisations at the front line: schools, cultural venues, local authorities and businesses. We unite those organisations to campaign for better policies that serve children and young people. We organise joint events and projects to reach a broader audience. We connect young people to mentors, work experience and inspiration.

Our research focusses on understanding the barriers that stop all children and young people realising their creativity, these might be contextual and structural or specific and quantifiable. We are particularly interested in the role schools can play in unlocking creativity for young people and the way in which organisations and individuals can work together locally to create the conditions for creativity to thrive.

 

 

More information will follow soon!

KUPUKE is launched by Estonian scholars and researchers with interdisciplinary background of social sciences, arts  and humanities.

The aim of KUPUKE is to gather expertise, create and share new knowledge in cultural policy, cultural management, cultural and art education, as well as in creative industries, both in Estonia and internationally, working with art and cultural institutions, universities, scholarly networks and government institutions.

In order to achieve its objectives, the organization will:

– conduct research on cultural policy, cultural education and creative industries (both in-depth and applied research, policy analyses, reviews, and reports);

– contributes to the development of cultural, social and tourism organizations through the provision of consultancy services, auditing, and reputation management;

– offers various levels of lectures and training for schools, vocational training institutions, higher education institutions, service providers, enterprises and public sector organizations;

– mediates expertise between research and professional networks, government departments, and cooperates with cultural, educational and creative industries;

– issues approvals, releases books, textbooks, review papers and other publications consistent with the content objectives;

– brings together the database on cultural policy, interest education, creativity and creative industries research, working with Estonian libraries, and translating it into international databases;

– collects and analyzes statistical data in cooperation with Estonian partners and the Statistical Office, and also mediates data in international databases (cultural policy compendium and networks of culture education);

– organizes public discussions and conferences.

 

National Working Programme for 2023-2027

Background

At the beginning of 2023, Finland and the world are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a significant impact on young people and children. In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, and the war in Europe caused a widespread energy crisis. There are also other threats, related to climate change and biodiversity loss, that affect the future outlook. In times like this, the Observatory for Arts and Cultural Education, Finland strives to promote arts education to support social stability and the prerequisites of individuals and communities to solve challenges and maintain functional capacity.
The Finnish society has recognised the importance of arts and culture for individuals and society. Former governments have also placed emphasis on the accessibility of culture in their government programmes. The Finnish arts and culture policy emphasises that every child and young person should have an opportunity to engage in arts and culture. Arts and cultural education aims, for example, at strengthening the individual’s creative skills, cultural competence and overall wellbeing. It also has value as an area of life that strengthens general education and inclusion.
The Observatory for Arts and Cultural Education, Finland was established in 2017 on the basis of the programme proposal for children’s culture policy (Ministry of Education and Culture 2014). It is a member of the European Network of Observatories in the Field of Arts and Cultural Education (ENO). The ENO network requires its members to draw up a national working programme. The programme of the Observatory for Arts and Cultural Education, Finland follows the ENO network’s rules and UNESCO policies on arts and cultural education. The first national programme outlined the purpose, key objectives and measures of the Observatory’s activities for 2017–2022. This programme outlines objectives and measures for the next five-year period (2023–2027). To support the implementation of the national programme, an annual operational plan will be drawn up, which confirms the Observatory’s duties and division of labour.

Objective

The objective of the Finnish Observatory for Arts and Cultural Education is to strengthen the equal accessibility and impact of arts and cultural education and to improve the social position of the sector and research in the field. The Observatory promotes the connection between research and practice in arts education and embedding research data into decision-making.
The programme period 2023–2027 will continue to strengthen the operating conditions of arts and cultural education and to influence decision-making on the basis of research data. Accessibility of arts and cultural education in all age and target groups will be supported. Awareness of the multidisciplinary impact of arts and cultural education and research in the field will be strengthened.
One particular aim during the programme period is to strengthen the position of arts education research as a field of science and to influence the resourcing of arts and cultural education research. The aim is also to enable cooperation between research units and the field and the implementation of extensive long-term research and cooperation focused on developing the field.
During the programme period, particular attention will be paid to the importance of arts and cultural education in the midst of societal crises and challenges. The aim is to highlight that the resources invested in arts and cultural education and the systematic development of the sector will strengthen our national resilience. It is essential to identify the means and opportunities of crisis-aware arts and cultural education and communicate about them. The objective also involves an enhanced emphasis on sustainable development, eco-social education, and democracy and peace education in the contents and methods of arts and cultural education. The possibilities provided by arts and cultural education to support the integration of children and young people from other countries are a concrete area of activity where arts education, crisis awareness and peace education come together.
Another key operational objective for this programme period is to influence the national core curriculum for basic education, which will be reformed during this government term. The position of arts education must be strengthened in the curriculum for basic education.
During this programme period, the Observatory will monitor the development of general upper secondary school diplomas and participate in the discussion about it. The Observatory aims to strengthen the extensive use and development of general upper secondary school diplomas and the recognition of their significance in continuing education. The Observatory will contribute to ensuring that, in the future, cultural education plans will become a binding part of the curriculum, so that all Finnish children and young people would have access to arts and cultural content. The aim is to smooth out differences in the quality of cultural education plans and their implementation.
The Observatory encourages all wellbeing services counties in Finland to include the regional objectives and measures of cultural wellbeing in their strategic plans and steering documents. The aim of the plan is to make it possible for the residents of the wellbeing services counties and patients in care to engage in arts and cultural services, and to generate preventive wellbeing and high quality of life through arts and cultural education.

Methods and measures

The Finnish Observatory for Arts and Cultural Education promotes its objectives by:

1. compiling and sharing information on the practices, research and operating policies in the field of arts and cultural education in Finland
2. strengthening the link between the fields of research, and education and training
3. supporting cooperation between arts and cultural education players and the operating conditions of the field
4. promoting international cooperation in the field
5. influencing the resources and prerequisites of arts and cultural education research

Key measures for the programme period 2023–2027

• Collecting and sharing information
• Collection of research data on arts and cultural education and storing it in the lastenkulttuuri.fi portal will continue
• Research data will be shared in seminars organised in collaboration with different operators
• Research-based information packages and other material will be developed
• National proposals for measures related to research in the field will be prepared and communicated about

Strengthening cooperation between research, education and stakeholders in the field

• Mapping research needs observed in arts and cultural education and communicating about them
• Developing the prerequisites for research in the field
• Identifying and utilising the opportunities provided by existing activities from the perspective of research
• Developing and embedding new operating practices and methods
• Organising a national cooperation event at least once a year

Supporting the operating conditions of arts and cultural education

• Preparing and publishing opinions and statements
• Establishing and expanding channels of influence
• Identifying and supporting the quality of Finnish arts education activities and system
• Engaging in international discussion about the values of arts and cultural education and applying them
• Influencing the content of the new UNESCO “Roadmap for Arts and Cultural Education” and implementing it through various channels in Finland
• Compiling and disseminating arts education materials

Promoting international cooperation

• Strengthening international long-term cooperation and networks
• Maintaining international ENO connections and preparing cooperation and participation
• Raising awareness of Finnish arts education at international events and publishing activities

website: https://www.taideobservatorio.fi/en/home

email: observatorio@uniarts.fi

The Association of Children’s Culture in Finland is the second founder of ENO Finland. The association advances professional cultural centres for children and adolescents in Finland and promotes competence in the field of children’s culture as well as its visibility nationwide. As a network we work so that every child and young person has the opportunity to participate in high-quality artistic and cultural activities of their choice and to produce their own artistic content.

 

The Center for Educational Research and Academic Development in the Arts (CERADA) is one of the three focus area centres of Uniarts Helsinki. Its focus is on research into arts education and research-based development of higher education in the arts. The research carried out in CERADA therefore responds to the demands for development in arts education and higher education in the arts, as well as professional development for artists and arts teachers. CERADA’s vision is to be a well-connected, internationally acknowledged, high-quality research centre that impacts society in its own focus area.

 

 

 

More information will follow soon!

• Creating and publishing abstracts and reports of relevant research in the field of arts and cultural education in Germany
• Taking part in network meetings and related working groups
• Contributing to specific network action fields related to monitoring and research
• Rising awareness for the annual international week of arts education by specific action taken

The Akademie der Kulturellen Bildung (Academy of Arts Education), established in 1958, is the central institute of arts education for children and young people in the Federal Republic of Germany and the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia. In its capacity as a continuous training academy for experts of youth, social, education and cultural work it is a recognised institution for children and young people’s development and qualifies in the entire spectrum of arts education subjects.

The Academy has a qualified expertise in theorising, policy counselling and concept development at its disposal. Research and evaluation are part of its services as much as analysis of educational and social cross-cutting issues. It exerts influence on the development of new job descriptions and fields of work in arts education and is an active contributor to the extracurricular arts education landscape.

The Academy of Arts Education is a member of a comprehensive network of institutions and persons in the field of arts education. It is a supporter of the Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendfilmzentrum (kjf) and the information centre “Kulturelle Bildung in Schule und Jugendarbeit NRW“ (Arts education in schools and youth work North Rhine Westphalia) and a centre of important arts education associations and organisations as well as the founder of numerous multiplier networks.

The Genshagen Foundation evolved from the Berlin-Brandenburg Institute for Franco-German Collaboration in Europe, which was founded in 1993 by historian Prof Rudolf von Thadden and Brigitte Sauzay. Since 2005, the Foundation has been run as a non-profit foundation under German civil law. It focuses on promoting and intensifying Franco-German and German-Polish relations, as well as facilitating the dialogue within the Weimar Triangle. Its founders and main sponsors are the German Federal Government, represented by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, and Land Brandenburg. The most important third-party donor is the Federal Foreign Office.

LEGAL FORM

Non-profit foundation under German civil law

OBJECTIVES

– The Genshagen Foundation aims to strengthen Europe’s cultural diversity, political capacity to act, social coherence and economic dynamism.
– Through its varied events and publications, the Foundation helps to find new approaches and solutions to current and future challenges in society and politics – always within the context of Europe.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

– At the interface between civil society, the state and the business world, the foundation operates in two working sections: Art and Cultural Mediation in Europe and European Dialogue – Political Thinking on Europe.
– Organisation of conferences and seminars on different European issues
– Public panel discussions, artistic projects and cross-border exchanges between experts, activists and artists
– Research programs
– residencies for authors and translators
– Summer universities for graduate students from France, Germany and Poland
– pilot projects in the field of cultural education

STRENGTHS

The Genshagen Foundation is known as an institution where political, economic, cultural and social issues linked to the European integration and agenda are discussed in a constructive and controversial high-level debate.

More information will follow soon!

The mission of our company, T-Tudok Research and Knowledge Management Center is to help decision makers, experts and people interested in education to understand better the developments and tendencies going on in the field of education. The Centre’s activity involves evaluation of development programmes and impact analysis of policy interventions so that we can help educational practice by finding and distributing good practices in order to enhance effectiveness of teaching and learning.

One of our most important projects is the operation of Creative Partnership program in Hungary. Creative Partnerships program is focused on the long-term relationship between creative practitioners and schools. Creative professionals from various branches (of arts) help students master different types of knowledge and skills. Creative practitioners bring new expectations, which clearly challenge students. But it is not only students that are jerked out of the rut of daily routine by the new learning process – schools as a whole are also affected. During the last three years of implementing the program in Hungarian schools we found that Creative Partnership is a good practice that should be introduced to more schools in need of a new perspective.

Other main areas of research in T-Tudok are educational policy, progress of pupils in the system, school effectiveness, equity issues, transition from school to work, school financing and management. Great emphasize is put on the use of appropriate scientific methods, the balanced use of qualitative and qantitative tools.

More information will follow soon!

NCAD

National College of Art and Design occupies a unique position in art and design education in Ireland, offering the widest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level. The College has been a recognised college of the National University of Ireland since 1996, in 2011 it became a Recognised College of University College Dublin (UCD) Ireland’s largest University. NCAD is ranked 60th in the world for Art and Design.

School of Education

The degree programmes in the School of Education foster interest in the arts, motivating and challenging students to achieve their creative potential, providing them with the skills they need to do so, contributing to the continued health and vibrancy of our visual culture. The School prepares students for teaching in the visual arts at second level through the Joint Honours Degree in either Fine Art and Education or Design and Education. The School also offer a two-year Professional Masters in Education at post-graduate level. The programme deals with the theory and practice of art, craft and design education at post-primary level.

The Department of Continuing Education in Art and Design (CEAD) offer multiple part-time flexible programmes in art and design. Approximately 600 hundred students enrol on CEAD programmes annually. University Certificate and Higher Diploma programmes cater for a wide range of students returning to and accessing higher education.

The aim of the Latvian National Observatory is to stimulate the dissemination and exchange of research-based knowledge and innovative practices in arts and cultural education in Europe, to promote the development of arts and cultural education practices and policies, and to support the development of cultural education within UNESCO’s global policy framework for sustainable development of education and culture.
The Latvian National Observatory follows the latest developments in the field of arts and cultural education in Europe, represents internationally the trends and research on changes and developments in Latvian cultural education; actively participates in projects initiated by ENO.

Latvian Academy of Culture (LAC) is a state-founded higher education institution under the Ministry of Culture, conforming to the type of university of arts and culture, is based on three pillars: education, research and artistic creation. It implements BA, MA, and doctoral programmes in the study direction “Arts”.
The Academy’s mission is to provide internationally recognized excellence in arts and culture education, scientific activity and artistic creativity, providing highly qualified human resources for the cultural, artistic and creative sector.
Research at the LAC is organised by its structural unit – the Institute of Arts and Cultural Studies. The research at the LAC is mainly focusing on arts, but many of its research activities are interdisciplinary, with links to the related fields of science, e.g. Sociology (including Anthropology, Ethnology), Law, Political Science, History and Archaeology. It has strong audio-visual and performing art departments and expertise. Excellent research competence has been developed in the cultural heritage field, cultural participation, the cultural and creative industry sector.
In the past few years numerous national and international research projects have been carried out. LAC has also become one of the leading research centres in Latvia implementing applied studies commissioned by the national and local level governments, monitoring trends in the CCS, and providing research-based expertise for policy development. This includes bi-annual study on cultural consumption and participation, as well as studies on vocational arts education among others.

ENO Netherlands aims to further the expertise and widen the focus of the arts educational field by researching underprivileged groups (elderly, cognitively and physically challenged, cultural minorities), critically evaluating policy initiatives in arts and cultural education and by training arts teachers and generalist teachers. In this, we co-operate with the whole field of arts and cultural education research in the Netherlands and we try to support colleagues in the country who are working on their PhDs by organizing intervision sessions and conferences.

We are a progressive knowledge centre for arts education. Teachers, trainers, scholars, policymakers and interested parties will find research and tools for innovative arts education here, as well as inspiration or support in their daily practice. Issues that arise from the arts education and instruction at the teacher training programmes of the Amsterdam University of the Arts (AHK) form the starting point for our research. In addition, we focus in particular on the themes of interdisciplinarity (within and outside the arts) and social engagement. Our research offers arts professionals guidelines to substantiate their practice theoretically, as well as tools that directly applicable in practice.

LKCA is the national knowledge platform for professionals, administrators and policymakers in cultural education and cultural participation. Through the dissemination of knowledge and research, we contribute to the quality of professional practice and policy. We encourage professional development in this field by facilitating meetings and debate. We also offer advice on issues of cultural education and cultural participation in the broadest sense of the term. Using information networks, conferences and digital resources, we provide insight into relevant developments in this field, both national and international.

LKCA contributes to the development of government policy programmes for cultural education and active cultural participation and supports their implementation.

The research group Research in Education in Arts, Culture, History and Literature (REACH-Lit) focuses on teaching and learning in literature, arts and culture, and heritage, from primary to higher education. We look at teaching and learning practices, teaching materials, classroom context, and school organisation to better understand education in the humanities. REACH-Lit is part of the Radboud Institute for Culture & History (RICH). RICH focuses on understanding the complexities of the past and present of Europe in a changing world. We research how texts, ideas, and cultural objects migrate across time and place and inquire into their roles in new contexts, for instance in maintaining or disrupting inequalities or by providing tools and strategies for coping.

• Reinforce relations between practice, research and policy development
• Stimulate and initiate research and research-based innovation in the field of arts and cultural education and education in general
• Support the development of high quality arts education based on the cultural rights of all children and young people in a diverse society
• Support powerful arenas for exchange to allow art education to address social, cultural and environmental challenges

NCACE is a national resource centre, located at North University. NCACE is part of The Faculty of Education and Arts, whose academic profile includes teacher education, humanities and the aesthetic disciplines.

The Centre was established by The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research in 2007, to support and strengthen work in the arts in kindergarten, primary and secondary school, and teacher education.  The centre collaborate with teacher educators and researchers, teachers, leaders and staff in kindergartens and schools, kindergarten and school owners, beside Educational and Psychological Counselling Service and various arts and culture institutions.

Faculty of Fine Arts is represented by Professor Lisbet Skregelid from the department of Visual Arts and Drama. University of Agder (UiA) is located in the Southern region of Norway. The university has a total of 12 000 students, and 1100 employees. The Faculty of Fine Arts is the seat of the research platform Art in Context. Here we carry out research within the fields of music, theatre, and the visual subjects through different interdisciplinary and cross-aesthetic perspectives. The objective is to understand and analyse art in relation to complex social, cultural, didactic, and historical contexts. This context-orientation reflects current tendencies in present-day artistic practices and in current arts-subject research. The Art in Context platform involves four research groups, amongst them Art and Young People led by Skregelid.

Department for Teacher Education is represented by Professor Tone Pernille Østern from the section of Arts, Physical Education and Sports.
The section focuses on bodily, sensory and aesthetic approaches to teaching and learning, works with practice-led as well as theory driven research and artistic development, and inclusive and critical perspectives on teaching pedagogies. The section specifically promotes diversity and inclusion and promotes ethically conscious relations, dialogues and collaborations across disciplines and boundaries, within the context of the teaching profession. Department of Teacher Education is one of the largest general teacher education environments in Norway, with its campus in the city of Trondheim, or Tråante, which is indigenous South-Sami land.

Arts for Young Audiences Norway is the Ministry of Culture’s agency responsible for art and culture for school pupils. This includes nationwide responsibility for The Cultural Schoolbag (TCS), as well as programs aimed at children and youth to increase cultural participation and inclusion, and digital innovation.
Arts for Young Audiences Norway acts as a resources centre for counties and municipalities, and promotes collaboration, research, and innovation.
Arts for Young Audiences Norway works closely with the Ministry of Education and Research and provides advice and other services to the central government authorities involved in the culture and education sectors, thus helping to establish a political framework and develop national programs to strengthen children and young people’s participation in art and culture.

• Analysing conditions for best student apprenticeship and volunteering in cultural institutions;
• setting quality standards for culture education: based on research conducted with partnering organisations and collecting best case scenarios;
• supporting educators and culture animators, offering them professional development opportunities;
• organising events as fora for discussion and exchange of practice and dissemination of recommendations for decision making in respect to culture, education, and social policies;
• organising events promoting regional heritage days at least once a year under the auspices of UNESCO Poland.

MIK (Malopolska Institute of Culture in Krakow) is a regional institute of culture with a specific focus on supporting the professional development of culture sector employees as well as on research, evaluation, and dissemination of concepts, methodologies, and strategies for the culture sector.

MIK runs Malopolska Culture Observatory and Culture Education programme for the region, participating in national and international debates on culture education. It promotes art and culture education in local communities by working with local schools and the local culture sector, but also involving local decision- makers. What is more, MIK cooperates with universities to link academia and practitioners.

MIK offers culture sector institutions across the region support in developing strategies and practical methodologies, including diversity, accessibility, etc.

Nationally, MIK was (and expects to continue to be) one of the regional operators in the Very Young Culture project that introduced art and culture education across the culture sector in Poland. MIK initiated systemic solutions for culture education programming and testing long-term cooperation between the formal education and culture sector as well as the local authorities.

MIK has extended experience in leading and participating in EU projects on manifold topics, including cultural heritage and digitalisation. The latter one is the outcome of two regional operational programmes and the establishment of the Malopolska Virtual Museums.

Internationally, MIK works within four networks. It is a part of the European Network of Observatories in the field of culture education and fine arts (ENO). Additionally, MIK engaged in the Culture Action Europe network, discussing the role of culture centres as well as supporting arguments for the importance of culture for the healthy living conditions of society. MIK is also a member of Interpret Europe network that develops methodologies for cultural heritage interpretation. Additionally, MIK initiated and remains an active member of Moreshet Jewish Heritage network, supporting the implementation of the EU strategy for combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life.

The AGH University of Science and Technology (the AGH UST) is a modern university that actively participates in fostering a knowledge-based society and creating innovative technologies. It is a leading Polish university in modern technologies and a prestigious international educational centre. Long and rich tradition is also a factor determining the University’s popularity – AGH UST has existed for 100 years and during this time it has educated groups of the most required engineers in Poland.

In addition to fields such as technical and natural sciences, research and education in the social sciences are also carried out at AGH UST, for which the Faculty of Humanities is primarily responsible. The Faculty of Humanitieswas established in 2001 in response to new educational and research needs that have emerged as a result of globalisation and rapid technological progress. The Faculty of Humanities is made up of three Departments: `Studies of Culture and Research in the Digital Age’, `Information Technology and Media’, and `Studies of Society and Technology’. They bring together academics from a variety of fields: sociologists, cultural studies, philosophers, media studies, psychologists as well as computer scientists, graphic designers, and biomedical engineers.

Collaboration in the following areas:

• Editing and writing of the yearbook1, 2018
• Preparation of yearbook2, 2019
• Contributing to the ENO on line library with references of artistic and cultural education

The Institute of Sociology of the University of Porto was founded in 1989 with the aim of promoting research in this specific area of knowledge, assembling also the heritage of other social sciences.

Articulating its goals and activities with those of the Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto, the Institute of Sociology is open to the region, the country and the world as a catalyst for debate and scientific innovation.

In 2002, IS-UP joined the network of scientific units of the Foundation for Science and Technology of the Ministry of Education and Science, and experienced, especially since that moment, a pathway of growth and qualification that has led to an intense activity, developed on a daily basis by 72 researchers, several Ph.D and Post-Ph.D fellows.

Multiple projects have been developed, involving a vast network of partnerships, particularly with public institutions and associations. Public policies is one of the most cross-cutting aspects that have been worked on.

Focused on fundamental research and on providing socially relevant services, the Institute of Sociology seeks to create an increasingly active involvement within the community, alongside the dissemination of research outcomes, in order to attract new audiences to scientific knowledge, and in particular to the sociological approach to reality.

ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL) is a public university established in 1972 and a leading institution in social sciences and business sciences in Portugal. Pursuing teaching, research and community service activities, it plays a major role in training qualified specialists and personnel, whose cultural, scientific and technical skills enable them to contribute to social, cultural and economic development both at the national and the global level.

Founded in 1985, the Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology (CIES-IUL) is the research unit in ISCTE-IUL involved in the ENO network. Its main scientific areas are sociology and public policy, but it also develops relevant activity in political science, communication, education, urban studies, social work and modern and contemporary history.

The Centre performs research in socially important fields and has specific and established competences in the study of public policy. On this basis, it carries out important work in the transfer of knowledge to institutions and the community in general.

With over 50 ongoing projects, the Centre’s team includes 166 PhDs and 200 PhD students. CIES-IUL participates in several international funded projects, research programs and networks of scientific cooperation. The Centre’s research lines are: I – Inequalities, Migrations and Territories; II – Knowledge Society, Competences and Communication; III – Family, Generations and Health; IV – Politics and Citizenship; V – Work, Innovation and Social Structures of the Economy and VI – Modern and Contemporary History.

The Portuguese Observatory on Cultural Activities (OPAC), is a research structure created in December 2018 at the ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon, within the framework of the Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology (CIES), which is the responsible institution for its scientific coordination and functioning.​
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Its mission is to ensure the development of accurate and up-to-date research, studies and information related with several cultural domains and themes, aiming to contribute to current debates in Portuguese society and the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies.
Despite the strong emphasis on Portuguese reality, OPAC also has a transnational comparative perspective, particularly within the European Union.
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Main goals:​

• Produce and disseminate indicators on arts and culture, including the designated cultural and creative sector;
• Develop original studies and join research partnerships with public and private institutions;
• Carry out and collaborate in research and scientific projects at national, European and international levels;
• Organize, host and participate in meetings, initiatives and events to present, spread and debate research results.
• Contribute to the articulation between scientific research and advanced university training (Postgraduate, MA and PhD) at ISCTE.dies and information related with several cultural domains and themes, aiming to contribute to current debates in Portuguese society and the formularaining (Postgraduate, MA and PhD) at ISCTE.

More information will follow soon!

Pionirski dom Centre for Youth Culture, which has been in operation since 1963, is a public institute in the field of culture and a leading institution in the field of extracurricular activities.

Pionirski dom is one of the leading institutions in the field of extracurricular activities for children, youth and adults. Over the span of some decades, almost one hundred thousand children and adolescents have taken part in a variety of creative and educational programmes. During the decades of its work, Pionirski dom Centre for Youth Culture has had a significant influence on the promotion of education and active engagement of children and youth in the cultural-artistic and linguistic-cultural fields.
The organisation of courses, clubs, workshops, seminars and other forms of activities for children, young people and teachers, the establishment of libraries and reading rooms, the organisation and care for bringing enjoyment to the lives of young people by organizing dances, theatre, film and other performances, the study of the organization and methods of teaching aimed at children and youth, the cooperation and exchange in the field of education of children and youth – all of these are part of the essential mission of Pionirski dom and have had a major influence in the development of children and youth both in the Ljubljana region and beyond.
Almost one hundred thousand children and adolescents have so far assured themselves that tradition and quality are our guides in creating and carrying out diverse and content-rich programmes.
Our institute will continue to develop as a competent and responsible institution that will encourage and guide young people in learning and education, with the aim to enable them to spend their leisure time creatively and to learn languages and cultures of Europe and the world.

• Encourage innovation projects in the education and arts field in the Girona area;
• Establish an evaluation of artistic education programmes;
• Generate and share knowledge through the dialogue between reflection and practice.

ConArte Internacional was created in 2014 and it has dedicated its work to the education and participation of children and teenagers through the arts and culture using the following lines of action:

• The dialogue between the world of education and that of the artistic creation, promoting intervention projects and education innovation.
• The creation of new audiences for culture by establishing links with cultural facilities in the municipality to be recognized as local services.
• The training of trainers in educational methodologies for and from the arts.
• The generation of knowledge about the educational capacity of the arts to formulate, implement and evaluate artistic and cultural projects in the classroom and in society.

The UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policies and Cooperation at the University of Girona (UdG) was established in 2000 with the goal of promoting research, knowledge transfer, innovation and cooperation at the cross-section of culture, development and education. Its work focuses on cultural policies, cultural management and arts and cultural education and training as means of safeguarding and promoting cultural diversity and cultural rights. As a member of the UniTwin Program of UNESCO, the Chair works closely with other universities, both in developed and in developing countries, but also with a wide network of broader societal actors engaged in advancing the role of culture in development processes and action.

The UNESCO Chair in Digital Culture and Arts in Education is located in Nürnberg, Germany and hosted by Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg.

It was established in 2011 and has ever since been particularly involved in national and international research in the field of cultural education.

In 2019 Prof. Dr. Benjamin Jörissen succeeded Prof. Dr. Eckart Liebau as chair holder, who had held the chair since its inception.

As a Chair we aim to achieve and work towards two main strategic goals:

1. Deepen the research approach on the issue of  “aesthetic education” within the scope of the broader field of arts education (respectively cultural education), while at the same time
2. Fostering global research dialogues and collaborations to contribute to the enhancement of quality arts education research worldwide.

The basis for achieving these goals is an intensive collaboration with other scientists in international networks, like the ENO and the UNITWIN (University Twinning and Networking Arts Education research for Cultural Diversity and Sustainable Development), who offer an open and quality-oriented global research context.

More information will follow soon!

ACEnet is a network of European policy makers, civil servants and academics working in the fields of arts and cultural education. As an informal learning network, we strive to improve arts and cultural education in Europe, by exchanging information, knowledge, experiences and inspiration, and learning from each other. ACEnet offers the possibility to benchmark policy measures in an international context. It also functions as a platform for presenting national good practices, and for testing ideas with or receiving feedback from other EU countries on work-in-progress.

More information will follow soon!