Generation Europe – Arts and Social Responsibility ⋆ ROOTS & ROUTES

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Generation Europe – Arts and Social Responsibility

Generation Europe – Arts and Social Responsibility

1. november 2018 – 28. february2021

Generation Europe is a network of more than 45 youth organizations from 16 countries. As part of this initiative, RRCGN coordinated a partnership with CCC Florence, Italy, and SMouTh Larissa, Greece, from 2018 to 2020, organizing youth exchanges and local group activities focused on the theme of “Arts and Social Responsibility” in the participating countries.

Photo © Rebecca Lena

“Active Citizenship” Meets Art

Conserving resources, reusing existing materials, and reducing waste—these were all themes of the three-year collaboration “Generation Europe – Arts and Social Responsibility.” The COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly added another set of issues to the mix.

Generation Europe is an international network of more than 45 youth organizations from 16 countries dedicated to promoting an active European civil society. Within this network, RRCGN, together with SMouTh (Larissa, Greece) and CCC (Florence, Italy), formed a partnership from 2018 to 2020 focused on the theme of “Art and Social Responsibility.”

Our first Generation Europe youth exchange took place from November 25 to December 6, 2018, in Florence, with the theme “No Waste!” Twenty young artists from the three participating countries explored the topics of consumption and waste through art, resulting in a performance and installation in various spaces at the PARC – Performing Arts Research Centre Cascine in Florence.

The second exchange, under the motto “Make use!”, then took place from June 21 to July 2, 2019, in Larissa; the focus here was on rediscovering and utilizing existing resources—from upcycling to exploring one’s own, perhaps untapped, abilities. During a day-long excursion, the international group cleaned up a littered beach.

The final gathering was originally scheduled to take place in Heek and Cologne from June 29 to July 16, 2020—but due to the pandemic, the plan had to be changed: Instead of an in-person international gathering, there was an online exchange with young artists working simultaneously in Florence and Larissa. This immediately established a thematic focus:

“Closeness and Distance” – “Communication and Isolation” – “Physical and Virtual Encounters.” Here is the most important project outcome, a jointly developed digital narrative in three chapters:

http://stories.rrcgn.de/generation-europe-2020

On July 14 at 7:00 p.m., the exhibition featuring the project outcomes opened at the Alte Feuerwache in Cologne (Halle), and it remained on view all day on the 15th.

http://www.facebook.com/events/724584541640665/

An article by the project team on the opportunities and limitations of online encounters has been published on the IJAB website, and another in deutsche jugend 11/2021.

By linking our local initiatives with activities at the European level, we are developing and testing new approaches to fostering a shared European democracy. In our network, young people work together regardless of their background, their parents’ income, or their past success in the formal education system.

The “Generation Europe – Arts and Social Responsibility” project also gave rise to a group of young artists from Cologne who advocated for more spaces for art in the city, thereby helping to launch the iJuLa project. This group eventually launched the “Kontaktlinse – Köln ist voller Kunst” project: an Instagram platform for artists from Cologne.

Generation Europe – Arts and Social Responsibility

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