When art and culture put global roots in children's school life

Being human in a constantly changing world is complex. Technological advances create new opportunities, solutions and conditions for life, but also challenges and ethical dilemmas. Our world and democratic systems are strained by economic inequality, resource scarcity and global pandemics, and our climate and ecosystem are now so threatened that this could have serious consequences for us all in the near future. We know that we live in extraordinary times. How do we learn to understand and relate to the reality we are all part of? What does the world call for in terms of action and solutions? And how do we involve children in such big questions - in a way that strengthens their curiosity, imagination, critical reflection and sense of agency?

Global Roots is an EU-funded strategic partnership project under the Erasmus+ schools track, primarily targeting middle school children. The project is about giving space to children's own way of seeing and relating to the world. It is crucial that children encounter an everyday life where they feel involved and listened to, and where they can freely reflect on and develop their role as active global citizens.

The focal point of Global Roots is art and culture. Through years of practice and a growing body of research, we know that high-quality arts and culture can help strengthen children's development, education and life skills. The Danish National School Act emphasises competences such as cognition, imagination, a desire to act, confidence in one's own possibilities and the ability to take a stand and act. It is therefore essential to develop working methods that can create a framework for children and young people's personal, social and professional development and experiences. The aim of Global Roots is to include professionally facilitated arts and culture in the school's methodological development, thus contributing to the goal of a school life focused on participation, co-responsibility and rights.

The overall objectives of the project are:

• To strengthen children's voices through the development of participatory methods in the interaction between general school subjects and aesthetic subjects, arts and culture.
• To increase children's understanding of equality and democratic rights, including their knowledge of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• To develop learning environments where children can relate to and act on sustainable development with reference to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• To facilitate and qualify inter-professional collaborations between school staff, artists and cultural mediators.
• To develop common models, tools and inspirational materials to support the inclusion of different disciplines in educational contexts.
• To develop an implementation strategy to ensure the project's broad relevance and applicability to schools at local, national and international levels.