Project title
Description of initiative
Within the framework of the EU program Erasmus+, the strategic partnership Creative Ageing dealt with the topic of cultural participation opportunities for seniors in difficult circumstances.
How can barriers to participation be overcome for this target group? How can low-threshold access be created? What strategies are needed for change? Staff from the city councils of Munich, Berlin (DE), Brighton & Hove (UK), Ostend (BE), Gothenburg (SE) and Leeuwarden (NL) will share their local strategies, research and good practice together with arts education practitioners.
Cultural education is an indispensable part of general education and lifelong learning. It can enable people from childhood to older age to develop their creative and personal potential, actively shape society and experience community. Cultural participation fights social isolation and promotes health and well-being as well as social cohesion.
It is therefore no surprise, that, in view of increased life expectancy and demographic change, cultural education is increasingly being discovered throughout Europe also for people of older age. Not only in culture and education, but also in the fields of leisure, health and care, as the strategic partnership shows. This field of »cultural geragogy« is still quite young, and yet numerous studies show that cultural education of older people and seniors make an immense contribution to quality of life, health and well-being. In 2019, WHO published over 3,000 evidence-based studies verifying this effect.
From the very beginning the project group was convinced that in order to reach out to the target group and actively involve them in cultural projects, it is necessary to work together across sectors and gain mutual knowledge of potentials and needs in administrative structures and methodological practices. In transnational meetings, the partner cities presented their cultural and social projects, funding programs and research results to each other; they experienced practical workshops together and exchanged ideas with the target group.
Following the project, the challenge for each of the partners involved is to figure out how to transfer and use what they have learned. The project group will continue to discuss and network beyond the project duration from 2023.
Themes: Culture and...
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Target group
Cultural field
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Results, benefits, impact and lessons learnt
The strategic partnership was planned as a European exchange, a possibility for professional input and a pool of ideas. A partnership to share methods, research and good practice from many different perspectives. The project members came not only from the cultural, but also from the health, care and social work sectors – it therefore was a cross-sectoral learning opportunity. They all met at eye level and engaged in a professional exchange - which is not a matter of course in daily working life. The six partner cities collaborated with 30 stakeholders during the project and over 260 other people were involved in individual activities.
They provided a project summary including detailed recommendations for policy makers which could be used as transferable recommendation for any city council’s work. Also part of the summary are detailed recommendations for practice and projects which should be acknowledged by practitioners, groups and organisations who want to implement projects with elderly people; a detailed overview of the most important best practice examples to be shared, copied and modified; a detailed summary of a scientific and data-based survey on cultural education for elderly people in Europe.
In addition, they provided an entertaining explanatory video and the video documentation of the Creative Ageing Conference which is online at the YouTube channel "Kulturreferat München".
Following the project, the challenge for each of the partners involved is to figure out how to transfer and use what they have learned. The project group will continue to discuss and network beyond the project duration. And, the city administrations have a very good chance to take action on this topic, as they are both - a source of funding and a structure-giving institution. The implementation has already begun with six specific best practice adaptations and a larger political attention for the issue, because we know - creative ageing will remain relevant.