Nordlys gives children and young people across the Central Denmark region hope for a more sustainable future

Is the earth drowning in plastic? What's it like to grow up without a home? And how can younger generations relate to the climate change they hear about every day in the media? These are some of the questions that children and young people in central Jutland can dance, sing, imagine and animate themselves to a deeper understanding of in 2020.

BUM - Network for Children and Youth Culture in the Region of Central Jutland and Kulturprinsen have received support for the project Nordlys from the regional cultural development funds. In Nordlys, children and young people in grades 4-10 will interpret and process the UN's Sustainable Development Goals through music, theatre, video and nature experiences in creative and interdisciplinary workshops in collaboration with their teachers and local artists and nature guides.

Children and young people are confronted daily with a lot of information about climate change, inequality, overconsumption and sustainability, which can often be difficult and inaccessible subject matter. With Northern Lights, we bring the UN SDGs to life and give children across the region the opportunity to engage with the global challenges we face. It sparks thought and gives hope and ideas about how we can work together to create a more sustainable future for all people.

Through the new joint children's culture project, BUM and Kulturprinsen can build on and further develop the successful collaborations already created through the previous regional projects Wishing Land (2017) and Songs for the World (2019). Nordlys thus strengthens many existing networks and provides new experiences of community across the region.

FACTS ABOUT THE NORTHERN LIGHTS:

• Northern Lights will create new communities and share experiences, knowledge, insights and expressions, as well as provide hope and new opportunities for students in Years 4-10. Grade.
• The 17 SDGs will be the starting point for Nordlys workshops, where school classes will interpret and process the goals through aesthetic processes. The Nordlys workshops will take place in conjunction with World Time and Nature Day in week 36.
• In preparation for the Nordlys workshops, a series of interdisciplinary meetings between professional artists, nature guides and school teachers are being developed. The municipalities' cultural and school advisors share experiences from previous projects and exchange ideas for new concepts. Together, new ways of understanding and disseminating work with art, culture, nature and the SDGs are created.
• The project will have a strong focus on engaging children's voices, their own motives and ideas about the world, and how they can help shape new ideals and values - locally and globally.
• A final BUM conference will be held in autumn 2020 to take stock of the project's experiences.