Culture for the Future : Culture Across Education Pathways

Culture for the future : culture across education pathways

• Youth • Civic / democratic participation • Citizenship • Access to culture • Education • Cross-sectorial collaboration

Context

As capital of Finland, Helsinki boasts several cultural assets, such as a collection of museums and a vibrand musical scene. Its architectural ensemble is also of touristic interest, while a unique Design District has made a name for itself around the world. Espoo is the second largest city in Finland and is situated in the same metropolitan area as Helsinki. Some of the most recognised centres and companies related to the knowledge economy are located in Espoo such as Aalto University, Nokia, the video game developers Remedy and Rovio, and the Espoo Museum of Modern Art. Espoo’s development is a microcosm of Finland: strong population growth, an increasingly affluent society and modern development as part of a growing, connected and international metropolitan area. Helsinki City Council has outlined a development strategy for the years 2013-16. The main areas of the strategy are the well-being of residents, the attractiveness of the town, urban development and the balance between economic development and sustainability. Culture has a place across all fields and is instrumental to tourism, leisure activities, and entrepreneurship, in addition to cultural services. As far as Espoo is concerned, its strategy is contained in the document Espoo Story (2013-17). The strategy underlines to what extent culture can benefit residents: first, as a top-quality events programme; second, as a tool to foster open-mindedness and creativity- by putting forward challenging and original ideas. Espoo aims to become a world-renowned innovation environment for expertise, science, art and economics. One of the cross- administrative development programmes focuses on the concepts of youth vitality and participation. Cross-sectorial collaboration in the metropolitan area has been the basis of many successful projects and Challenges the structural development of the youth and cultural sector. By tying the cultural sector to the educational field, the cities of Espoo and Helsinki are adapting tothe structural changes the educational sector is facing these days in Finland: the aim, for the next decade, is to create more flexible learning environments based on new operational pedagogies. The vision is to move the teachers’ focus from teaching knowledge to instilling the desire to learn. As a consequence, the dialogue with the cultural sector becomes instrumental in achieving such an objective. Culture for youth education Espoo and Helsinki have developed a series of A second case, also implemented by the city of projects under the wide umbrella of “Culture and Helsinki, is the “Operation Pulse!” . This project Children/Youth”-oriented objectives. Although offers free cultural activities and events based on these are separate and independent projects, both the participants’ suggestions. This initiative involves cities closely follow the practices of each other and youth centres but also cultural centres and libraries. exchange regularly their knowledge and experiences. Operation Pulse! is a model of collaboration and participation between the youth sector and the Kultus is an operation led by the city of Helsinki cultural sector, targeting youngsters from 12 to 18 to connect schools and cultural services. As the years of age. Through the initiative, the young are able city believes an equal and inclusive art education, to influence decision-making and make themselves disregarding social backgrounds, can only be heard. provided through elementary schools, Kultus is a plan to ensure that every child and young person in A third initiative is KULPS!, an arts and sports Helsinki receives a wide range of artistic and cultural pathway programme, developed by the municipality experiences in elementary school. Helsinki’s Cultural of Espoo. It provides learning opportunities for Office has, together with the Education Department, comprehensive school students (grades 1-9) at local developed a programme and website to introduce cultural organisations and sport venues. The aim of cultural curriculums and the use of arts and culture the programme is to offer an equal opportunity for all in education. Clear examples of such cross-subject children in Espoo to engage in local arts and sports initiatives are the teaching of math through dancing, activities. The content for the KULPS! programme is and biology through painting. designed to support the Finnish National curriculum. Site visits take place during the school day and students are accompanied by their teachers. Budget and financing Kultus: Renewing and developing the site: €120,000 (2014); maintaining the site, normal use: €60,000 (2015) Pulse: The budget varies each year as a result of the negotiations of the actors involved. During the first three years of the project the budget was allocated from Helsinki’s Neighbourhood project. Since then the budget has varied greatly. In 2015, the operating budget of €40,000, has been allocated from the Helsinki City Culture Office. The Helsinki Youth Centre also makes a contribution. KULPS: €350,000-year (including salaries of the administration). Transportation costs (€5-child) €115,000-year. All three projects are 100%funded by the municipality.

Impact In the programme Kultus, about 100 cultural operators (theatres, museums, dance companies, culture houses, etc.) currently make their programmes and services available to schools via the website Kultus. fi and also categorise them. This system on the one hand encourages access to culture for young people through the mediation of the school system and on the other allows for the expansion of cultural venues’ traditional audience . At its peak times Kultus.fi has up to 600 events on offer to the schools. KULPS! started in 2008. In 2014 over 70,000 students participated in the programme and 45 local organisations benefitted from the initiative. The programme is a very important means of income for local museums, theatres and other arts and culture actors, and increases equality among children of different socio-economic backgrounds. In the PULSE programme the most important successes are the efficient networking cooperation since 2009, the increase in youngsters’ participation and influence in decision-making processes, and the positive feedback from young people about the quality of the programme. Transferability Tips The main element to consider in the transferability Art-based methods provide a learning of the projects is its strong focus on school-aged environment or instrument for any school individuals, and the close collaboration with the subject. educational system. Children and youth are priority groups in Establishing contacts between cultural operators both Helsinki’s and Espoo’s strategies. It and the education system requires perseverance is rare that these groups are taken into and planning, and the bottlenecks are linked to the consideration, but they are a key element for lack of information and feedback between both. the effectiveness of cultural planning in the For instance, the greatest challenge of the KULTUS long term. programme was to reach the 4,000 Helsinki city teachers. Although the website has been operational The exchange of information and the for 10 years, it is still fairly unknown to the teachers. synergies at work between the two cities The programme is voluntary for schools and not allow for complementary action and all children are involved as much as they could be, experience-sharing on what initiative or owing to the teachers’ choosing not to involve them. method has, or has not, proven successful. Also, there are many difficulties in involving young people in cultural activities (such as pressure from friends, difficulties in participating in organised activities with unfamiliar mentors) and the culture of non-participation is strong in some areas.

Sustainability Management level and partners The individual projects incorporate the concept of The projects are cross-sectorial collaborations sustainability into their philosophy, since working between the municipalities of Helsinki and Espoo, with schools to set up a cultural ecosystem involving the school system and the cultural sector under the children ensures long-lasting cultural attendance. leadership- and financing - of the municipalities. The Such emphasis on culture from a young age, and often objective is to transfer responsibility to the schools through schools, is in line with the Finnish educational as regards themes and activities, and to achieve a shift towards a more flexible learning environment cultural agenda defined from the bottom-up. The that supports new pedagogies. The schools will move schools’ rectors as well as teachers would design their focus from teaching knowledge to promoting and assist the implementation of the culture-based the desire to learn. In this respect, the dialogue with educational programmes. the cultural sector is naturally to be favoured.

Links : Contact : www.kultus.fi Stuba Nikula, Cultural director in Helsinki http://lansipulssi.munstadi.fi/ [email protected] Susanna Tommila, Cultural director in Espoo [email protected]