Over 130 participants representing 11 countries participated in the International Conference "Innovations in Arts Education: Bridging Socially Engaged Arts and Digital Learning" (Poznań, 14th June 2024) organised by the Faculty of Educational Studies of Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań.
The International Conference "Innovations in Arts Education: Bridging Socially Engaged Arts and Digital Learning", was held in Poznań on 14th June 2024. The conference was organised by the Faculty of Educational Studies of Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, summarising a two-year international project: "Critical Arts Education for Sustainable Societies (CARE/SS)". The Erasmus+ Project KA220-HED, Agreement no: 2021-1-CY01- KA220- 000032127 is co-funded by the European Union (project duration: II 2022 – VI 2024). The leader of the project was Frederick University, Cyprus, Nikosia and the Partner Institutions were: University of Barcelona (Spain), University of Malta, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) and Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań.
The project aimed to develop innovative solutions for art education in the context of social sustainability. The focus was on implementing methods and tools for direct and distance education and their hybrid combination. It also explored linking critical pedagogy ideas (e.g. equalising chances for disadvantaged groups) with art education and ICT tools. Consotrium members designed and implemented eleven courses (by either transforming existing courses or proposing new ones – for undergraduate students, postgraduate students and in-service teachers) and the design of supporting resources for the courses. The main project Results are four reports: and Handbook for academics Pavlou, V. (ed) (2024). Critical Arts Edducation for Sustainable Societies. A Handbook for Arts Educators Frederick University, Cyprus.
The Conference Scientific Committee was chaired by Mateusz Marciniak and Victoria Pavlou, while Katarzyna Forecka-Waśko and Michalina Kasprzak chaired the Organising Committee.
The conference was held on 14.06.2024 (Friday) from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the facilities of the Faculty of Law and Administration of AMU (Poznań, al. Niepodległości 53). Debate was divided into the following thematic sections (the detailed information about the content is available in the attached conference Agenda).
The central part of the conference agenda (Plenary Session I: Experiences of CARE/SS project and Plenary Session II: Art in action) was summarising activities undertaken during the CARE/SS project, presenting main promises and deliverables, and focusing on project results. The CARE/SS consortium members shed light on theoretical and practical reflections on socially engaged art, innovations in artistic education and the use of ICT in art education, social engagement of art and tools for measuring it, and innovative teaching and learning methods in art education.
The second part of the Conference Agenda (Section A: Inclusive arts for social participation and integration, Section B: Art education for social change – flash talk session and Workshops) gave a voice to Polish and foreign academic students, representatives of schools and educational institutions, artists, and members of associations and foundations. Those parallel sections presented contributions of in-service and pre-service teachers and practitioners on the topics of socially engaged art, innovation in working with/through art, and good practices in art education.
The conference offered five Workshops for working with new methods and techniques of various art forms (visual arts, drama, music, dance, performance and others).
The conference was dedicated to: in-service and pre-service teachers, educators, researchers, academic staff members, students, artists, occupational therapists, and local stakeholders interested in the conference topic. There were 132 attendees: 28 members of the CARE/SS consortium (8 face-to-face, 3 online, 17 AMU organisers), 42 foreign participants (mostly students, pre-service teachers, and trainees) and 63 local (Polish) participants. All attendees received certificates of conference attendance for passive and active participation and workshop certificates.
The language of instruction was English, and the conference was free of charge. All interested people who joined the event created a platform for exchanging experiences and good practices in the field.
We encourage all people interested in the deliverables of CARE/SS project to visit the Critical ARts Education for Sustainable Societies (CARE/SS) project website
dr Mateusz Marciniak
Chair of the Conference Scientific Committee
Erasmus+ KA220-HED, Agreement no: 2021-1-CY01- KA220- 000032127 The project “Critical ARts Education
for Sustainable Societies (CARE/SS)” is co-funded by the European Union.
