European Partnership for the (Digital) Inclusion of Disadvantaged Youth: ViSAS Project launched

How can European youth work remain innovative and sustainable, despite the pandemic? This question is addressed in the project "ViSAS - Virtual Social Art Stage" with a transformation of artistic methods into the digital space. The Erasmus+ project is scientifically monitored by sfs researchers Kerstin Guhlemann and Christine Best and started in April with an online kick-off event.

The Covid19 pandemic intensifies social and economic challenges in Europe, making youth work as important as it is problematic to implement in view of the current restrictions. Against this background, seven European partners from Italy, France, Spain and Germany have come together in the ViSAS project to develop and test a way of activating younger generations: The transformation of artistic methods into digital space. Aim of the project is to create a virtual space for hybrid artistic youth work, develop concepts and ideas of its use and prove its effects scientifically to enable its use by further actors.

The basis of the project idea is the innovative approach of Social Art, the application and dissemination of which in Europe has already been and is being scientifically monitored by sfs researchers Kerstin Guhlemann and Christine Best in two other Erasmus+ projects ArtE and JobAct Europe since 2017. In social art, the empowerment of the individual is targeted, for example with the help of theatre pedagogical methods. Since the approach can look back on many years of success in its application and has experienced European dissemination (ArtE-Blog), it is now also being applied in the digital space in ViSAS. The digital space is developed and tested together with young people, professionals from youth education and art/culture as well as e-learning developers in hybrid work. Young people are actively connected across national borders, intercultural competence is strengthened and responsibility and self-determination are encouraged.

Cooperation Partner:

• Projektfabrik gGmbH, Germany
• Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund, der TU Dortmund
• Signal Interrupt GmbH, Germany
• Vivaio per l´Intraprendenza Associazione Promozione Sociale, Italy
• Patchanka Società Cooperativa Sociale, Italy
• Avanzarte, Spain
• La tête de l'emploi, France

To the project page of ViSAS