The Erasmus+ project “CHAC – Cultural and Historical awareness for Active Citizenship” has successfully concluded after two years of engaging young people and youth workers across Europe in the co-creation of three local exhibitions, through innovative educational methods and community research activities, implemented during a period of local workshops. A product of collaboration between the project coordinator XsentrikArts (Austria) and project partners EduLab (Italy) and NGO NEST Berlin (Germany), and co-funded by the European Union, this initiative aimed at and successfully cultivated a dynamic and multifaceted cross-cultural exchange of ideas, blending public and oral history, social storytelling and art for the purpose of cultural and historical education and youth empowerment.
The project aimed to enhance youth awareness about cultural and historical awareness through an engaging and participatory process of community research, investigation and creation of an exhibition. The items and art works gathered across three local exhibitions in Italy, Germany and Austria addressed several key priorities, including active citizenship, fostering a social inclusion process for both youth and local communities, and deepening their involvement in cultural activities and their knowledge about the history of the places they live in.
By combining social storytelling and community reporting the objective was to reinforce youth educators’ knowledge on cultural topics, and providing methodologies for use of Public and Oral History in non-formal education settings. As a result, CHAC saw the creation of three local exhibitions, Naheliegende Geschichte(n) in Vienna, Storie di legami, di incontri e di viaggi in Nuoro, and Unheard Stories in Berlin. The common thread linking these three distinct exhibitions is a reinforced sense of community and active citizenship through the participants’ engagement in exploring social issues other inhabitants face and changes that have occurred over time.
The project produced several key outputs designed to support ongoing education efforts promoting cultural and historical awareness among youth and fostering active citizenship. The Study Report offers an engaging resource that explores the questions of cultural and historical awareness in society, especially with regards to (political) participation and democracy, its benefits, and conservation efforts through interactive activities, aimed at individuals and educators alike, to strengthen a sense and skills of participation in democratic societies. It also contains a collection of best practices in working with young participants and partners to raise awareness and empower youth as active citizens. The Training Guide proposes practical solutions, alongside a training method for youth workers and educators. Furthermore, a CHAC Toolkit has been created, that provides not only step-by-step guidance for implementation of local workshops, but also contains a documentation of three exhibitions that have been co-created with the young participants during the piloting CHAC workshops in the three partner countries. All these resources, are made available on the projects’ website: https://chac-project.eu. These resources i.e., the Study Report plus the Training Guide as well as the CHAC Toolkit for educators including the exhibitions’ documentation, offer practical guidance and easily accessible and replicable materials in multiple languages for educators and youth workers across Europe, enabling the replication and adaptation of CHAC’s methodologies in different contexts.
Two online training sessions with youth workers brought together youth educators to pilot an innovative training format focused on promoting cultural and historical awareness among youth and fostering active citizenship. Participants learned about key methodologies like public and oral history, social storytelling and community reporting, and how to apply them in a non-formal education setting, centered around a workshop phase culminating in a group exhibition.
Subsequently, these local activities were launched across partner countries, directly involving youth in the research and creation of items and pieces for three local exhibitions, as a result of local workshops and community research: Unheard Stories in Berlin, Neighbouring (His)Stories in Sandleitenhof, Vienna, and Stories of ties, encounters and journeys in Nouro, Italy, all three set up by diverse groups of participants from fields such as art, history, sociology, community activism, and social work.
In conclusion the CHAC project successfully reached its goals of raising cultural and historical awareness but also fostering active citizenship and youth engagement in democratic societies across Europe. It provided inspiration and tools for young Europeans to take meaningful actions towards a strengthened sense of belonging and political participation. The concept of fusion of storytelling, cultural and historical explorations in community settings and the co-creation of an exhibition provides, as we believe, a robust and enduring reference point for advocacy for future similar projects and undertakings.
