Active participation of young Europeans in Democratic life and its representative institutions is pivotal for safeguarding the legitimacy, credibility, and operation of European democratic systems. Nevertheless, young people are less likely to be involved in traditional forms of participation.
According to Eurobarometer the percentage of young persons participating in EU elections is limited to 45-55%. Youth absenteeism does not mean that young persons are apathetic. Studies show that “younger persons’ political engagement has shifted away from electoral politics towards cause-orientated political action and networking.” Young people choose to engage differently and they prefer ‘alternative forms’ of participation. Democratic Institutions run the risk of not being able to interpret these new forms of youth participation and young people run the risk of not being heard.
ARTiculate constitutes an ‘alternative’ approach for participation in democratic life, based on our common European values, civic engagement and participation. It brings less-heard voices to the forefront through creative expression and influence public discourse. Young participants, are actively involved in all stages of the project and, thus, they are enabled to a meaningful participation and a sense of ownership over the project as a whole.
Aligned with the EU Youth Strategy, the project aims to engage, connect, and empower young Europeans to ARTiculate their opinions and views on issues that matter to them the most so they can be heard via an alternative platform—the arts—participate in public discourse, involving themselves in the making of their common European future.
Articulate offers an alternative platform for democratic participation.
Stay tuned to learn more on how our workshops will utilize arts to enhance productive dialogue and active citizenship!
Room for Art
- Coordinator
Room for Art is a cultural NGO based in Nicosia (est. 2020), aspiring to promote the ideals of freedom, democracy, peace and mutual understanding and positive sustainable social change through art. Its main activities, cultural, artistic and life-long learning, provide individuals the opportunity to express creatively, acknowledge their potential and widen their perspectives in the areas of its members’ and collaborators’ expertise: Creative writing, visual arts, ceramic art, music/singing, graphic design, acting/drama etc.
Its members and collaborators bring decades of experience between themselves in formal, informal, and non-formal education settings and civil society matters. It is our firm belief that in the midst of global turmoil and angst, art and creative expression are the strongholds of our humanity.
Room for Art has accumulated, through its members and collaborators, abundant knowledge, experiences, and expertise, working with students in primary, secondary, and higher education. This collective experience constitutes an asset for Room for Art and its activities in the field of youth and adult education and training. Room for Art is committed to planning and implementing projects to engage, connect and empower individuals so they are equipped with the skills required for intercultural understanding and meaningful participation in democratic life.
Room for Art offers opportunities for lifelong learning and development through innovative methodologies in formal and non-formal settings aiming at maximizing the individual’s full potential. Through the initiatives planned and implemented by our organization, we aspire to create a framework where citizens will have the opportunity to express creatively, acknowledge their potential, and widen their perspectives.
University of Granada (UGR)
- Partner
The UGR (1531) is a public comprehensive research university with over 55,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students and 6,000 staff members. Its role as leader in incoming and outgoing student and staff mobility in European and international programmes, and its attractiveness for international students and researchers, make for multicultural campus life and a lively cosmopolitan setting. The UGR is currently ranked 3rd in Spain according to the Shanghai ranking (2019) and is the leading regional university in the south of Spain.
The UGR is the coordinator of the Arqus European University Alliance, one of the first 17 European Universities funded under the Erasmus+ programme that brings together the universities of Bergen, Granada, Graz, Leipzig, Lyon, Padova and Vilnius.
It has occupied the leading position in both outgoing and incoming Erasmus student mobility at European level. Ιn 2007 it was awarded the Erasmus Gold Star in recognition of its continuing work in the promotion of European mobility since 1987. It currently receives more students in this Programme (about 2000) than any other European university and it is one of the European universities that send the most students to other institutions (about 1650). The UGR also takes part in other mobility initiatives as part of programmes such as the Organisation of Ibero-American States' PIMA (Academic Mobility and Exchange Programme), the European Commission's Erasmus Mundus and UNESCO's PEACE programme, as well as programmes organised by the Coimbra Group of Universities.