Arts and Culture

Skeiane ungdomsskole - March 2022

During the meeting in Sandnes - Norway, we focused on how our European heritage is built on contact and migration resulting in our culture and art evolving with the influence of local traditions and input from other places. We want to counter populist and nationalistic ideas that are based on a “unique” culture.

Art shapes who we are - how art has been used both to emphasise the idea of a nation historically (national romanticism), but also to promote the freedoms that European values are based on:

• • respect for human dignity,

  • freedom, democracy,

  • equality,

  • the rule of law and respect for human rights including the rights of people belonging to minorities

Culture across Europe - we focused on culture. We understand culture as an umbrella term that encompasses the social behaviour and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs and habits of the individuals in these groups (Wikipedia). We had workshops on creating a work of art, folk dance, and presenting traditional food and we will try to search and identify where examples of traditions and culture come from. We also had a small workshop where each of the partner countries should create a video presenting stereotypes of their own country.

See the presentations and pictures of the workshops here: