For Immediate Release
An international Consortium aims to change the European educational framework by demonstrating the potential of arts and cultural heritage in children and youth using the Sustainable Development Goals as its core.
Rome, 10 February 2025. “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world”. These are the words Nelson Mandela used to highlight the transformative power of education as a means to bring about positive change and address social and environmental problems.
The belief in the transformative power of education is at the heart of Europe itself. Ensuring quality education not only improves the knowledge and skills of EU citizens, but also drives innovation, capability, productivity and competitiveness
Nowadays, new competences for personal fulfilment and development, employability, social inclusion, and citizenship are required. Integrating the arts into educational programs is essential because from a human rights perspective, arts and cultural heritage collections constitute a powerful resource for peoples and communities’ identities and sustainable development processes. These collections embody Europe's rich and diverse melting pot of traditions, places, and communities, symbolising the fusion of identity, wellbeing, and sense of belonging.
This is the aim of the European Towched project. Coordinated from the University of Valencia, it will demonstrate the transformative potential of inclusive educational interventions, which will be critically evaluated, providing a field-tested and well-supported roadmap for fostering artistic and cultural awareness and expression in education and training across Europe, thus making Europe and our world a better place for all. Its innovative perspective is set in the application of the Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) as a project planning tool, central to the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
TOWCHED will actively engage with children, young people, educators, creatives, heritage professionals, policymakers and professional development providers to ensure our goals and impacts are not only achieved, but that stakeholders are empowered to shape these goals in line with the principles of 'leave no-one behind' and the right to development. Furthermore, it will focus on lifelong perspectives, from early childhood education and care to young adult education in formal and non-formal learning environments. Towched will seek to empower community-based organisations to be more effective in supporting sustainable development through educational activities that foster people's active, free and meaningful participation. The project will work in close collaboration with the New European Bauhaus (NEB) and other similar initiatives.
For more information visit our website and our social networks: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and Bluesky.
#Towched #TowchedEU #Towched4education #Heritage4Education
Towched partners:
- Universitat de València, Spain
- International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), Italy
- International Institute for Environment and Development Europe (IIED Europe), Netherlands
- Network of European Museum Organisations, Germany
- Young Educators - European Association, Portugal
- KULTURALL, Serbia
- The Climate Academy, Brussels
- ZEMOS 98, Spain
- The Latvian Museums Association, Latvia
- The Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Greece
Media Contact:
Mar Gaitán
Coordinación e investigación
Universitat de València
Alejandra Nieto
Coordinación e investigación
Universitat de València