Erasmus “Art and Inclusion”

The idea of the “Art and Interculturalism” project was to highlight the importance of all peoples in terms of cultural expression and to emphasize to children from other countries that the culture of the country they left is as important as the culture of the country they live in.

The plan addressed the horizontal priority of inclusion and diversity, because it highlights the cultural identity of all people, and strengthens their pride in their origins.

Booklet Art and Inclusion

The booklet in Word to be downloaded here

The project is a partnership of schools with a high percentage of pupils from different cultural backgrounds. It includes the Esperino Gymnasio Rodou with 60% of foreigners, mainly first-generation refugees and immigrants, the Gymnasio Gennadiou Rodou with 60% mainly children of economic migrants and the Agrupamento de Escolas de São João da Talha in Portugal with 50% of first and second generation foreign students.

The schools’ partnership is supported by the non-profit educational company ICON Greece, which supported the project’s activities and designed the final product “Art and Interculturalism”.  The South Rodou Police Department is also involved, highlighting the social face of the police.

The main objective is the inclusion through the promotion of artworks of different cultures. The main activity of the project was for each student to choose an artwork related to the culture of the country of origin or residence and present it to the students of all schools.

During the project the students used a photograph of their chosen cultural object and a very simple description, three sentences in English, to present it. The use of a photograph and a short description facilitates the expression of students who, due to their migrant background, do not have a good knowledge of the language of the host country. The cultural elements chosen by the students of all the schools formed the present brochure “Art and Interculturalism” as a final product.

We believe that a good way of inclusion is to highlight the importance of their own culture, their own cultural heritage, the elements with which they are interconnected or their families and are characteristics of their people.

The school’s effort to collect, record and then showcase the culture of all ethnicities is an essential movement that is completed with this publication and with the presentation of elements from all cultures. It is also a symbolic gesture that shows the school’s support for all cultures.

The creation of the brochure is particularly important because it is a reward for the students’ efforts. The brochure shows that their effort has a result and that the school truly believes in the value of multiculturalism by highlighting it through the use of the material the students will have created.

The brochure is available in digital format and will be available in English, Greek and Portuguese language. It can also be used for classroom decoration, for a photography exhibition, in History and Art classes, in Culture courses for adults, etc.

The project group of ICON