Cultural Wellbeing: Arts and Heritage for Belonging and Learning

Description

Wellbeing is often treated as something separate from everyday learning (for instance, as a special activity, an external project, or a strategy to use only when stress becomes unbearable).

The truth is, sometimes we look for “magic recipes”, imaginative scenarios, or innovative activities, when we tend to overlook the fact that many valuable resources are in front of us, under our feet, or a few steps from home.

Treasures that have shaped our identity, our sense of belonging, and our ways of seeing the world, while also contributing to our own wellbeing.

All of that is part of what we might call our cultural heritage.

This course explores the connection between cultural participation, heritage, arts, identity, belonging, and learning.

It helps educators understand how meaningful encounters with culture can support emotional expression, social connection, reflection, inclusion, and a stronger sense of place and community.

This course translates recent research and policy interest in arts, culture, and wellbeing into practical educational activities that teachers can use with students, colleagues, families, and the wider school community.

After recent reports by the World Health Organization, many studies and governmental actions taken in many countries are pointing to the undeniable impact that culture and the arts have on people, at any age and from any background.

More than ever, Health and Culture are coming closer together, in some cases taking the form of Social and Cultural Prescribing initiatives led by health and mental health professionals.

Therefore, cultural wellbeing is an emerging interdisciplinary field which explores the relationship between participation in arts, culture and creative activities and the wellbeing of individuals and communities.

During the course, participants will be introduced to the latest research and knowledge on cultural wellbeing, understanding the impact of cultural participation on physical and mental health, and the value of this connection in fostering a sense of identity and a sense of belonging.

Through hands-on activities, participants will experience and design cultural wellbeing practices such as cultural mapping, “museum of emotions” activities, sensory observation, city walks, storytelling, gratitude walks, creative reflection, and group sharing.

They will also reflect on how culture can support inclusion by helping students connect personal, family and community stories with wider cultural narratives.

A central focus is school transfer. Participants will learn how to identify the cultural resources already available around their school and how to turn them into simple, inclusive and meaningful wellbeing activities.

By the end of the course, they will have created a cultural wellbeing toolbox, and they will create their own cultural wellbeing plan for their schools, which they can reuse in the classroom, share with the school community, and expand to families and the wider society around the school.

Concept by Marta Mandolini

Learning outcomes

The course will help participants to:

• Understand the relationship between Culture and Wellbeing and how meaningful cultural participation can contribute to human and educational wellbeing;
• Identify art and cultural activities related to the Cultural heritage of a place to facilitate a reflection on the sense of identity and sense of belonging of the person;
• Design inclusive culture-based activities that support reflection, emotional expression and social connection;
• Use museums, public spaces, nature, objects, traditions and personal stories as starting points for learning and wellbeing;
• Adapt cultural wellbeing activities to different ages, backgrounds, language levels and student needs;
• Create a Cultural Wellbeing Toolbox and a School Cultural Wellbeing Plan for their own educational context;
• Feel confident in proposing opportunities for cultural participation, connection and flourishing within the school community and beyond.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Introduction to the course

• Introduction to the course and the Academy;
• Introduction to the host city and the week’s cultural activities;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools and institutions;
• What we mean by cultural wellbeing;
• Culture, heritage, arts, and wellbeing: key concepts;
• Why cultural participation can support identity, belonging, and connection.

Day 2 – Culture as a resource of wellbeing

• Warm-up activity “My Cultural Puzzle”;
• Group reflection: where do we already find culture and wellbeing in our schools?;
• Arts and Health and cultural wellbeing: state of things from an international perspective;
• Understanding the concepts of social prescription, cultural prescription, and cultural welfare;
• Case study: create a Cultural Prescription for your students (practical activity in groups).

Day 3 – Why culture makes us feel better

• How places, colors, shapes, objects, and artworks can affect attention and emotion;
• Outdoor activity: colors and shapes hunt in the city;
• Sensory observation and mindful attention in cultural spaces;
• A museum for emotions: exploring artworks or heritage objects through feelings and personal response;
• Designing simple museum-based or place-based wellbeing activities;
• Reflection: How can cultural places help students slow down, notice, and connect?.

Day 4 – Cultural heritage as a social opportunity

• Cultural heritage and identity: from sense of belonging to cultural sharing;
• Exchange of Cultural heritage richness;
• Designing Culture for Inclusion: diversity as a resource;
• Natural pathways to gratitude and social connection: activity in public gardens;
• Workshop: adapting heritage-based activities for inclusive classrooms;
• Reflection: how can students see their own stories as part of a wider cultural landscape?.

Day 5 – Looking around your own school

• Looking around your own school: cultural resources, places and community connections;
• Practical activity: creating a school “Cultural Wellbeing Map”;
• Building a cultural wellbeing toolbox;
• Designing activities for students, colleagues, families or the wider school community;
• Creating a school cultural wellbeing plan;
• Presentation of participants’ plans;
• Peer feedback and final reflection on classroom transfer;
• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussions;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance.

Day 6 – Structured cultural activities

• Structured cultural activity(ies) according to the hosting location;
• Learning journal: individual written reflection on the course experience;
• Course reflection: self-reflection and review of course materials and resources.

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