City of Valkeakoski

Promoting well-being through the arts was a joint project of the art education organisations in Valkeakoski, Finland. The coordinator of the project was the town's centre for education and well-being, and the partners were Valkeakoski Music School, Valkeakoski Lifelong Learning Centre (basic education in dance and drama), and the Emil School of Fine Arts and Crafts. One of the central objectives of the art education organisations in Valkeakoski is to develop their organisational cultures. The adoption of the new national curriculum for art education in 2018 brought with it clear development needs. The town administration has been restructured in anticipation of a major national reform of health and welfare services. The new organisation reflects the new tasks of the municipality in the promotion of residents' well-being. Art education as a means to promote well-being and prevent social and health problems has a major role in this task. The adoption of the new national curriculum brings along the need to train teachers to meet the new contents and requirements. In order to add a European dimension to education, it is also necessary to increase the language skills of the staff. The goal of all consortium partners was to increase their cultural competences and gain skills to emphasize multicultural aspects in teaching and to get new insights into learning environments.