Art and Sport as Catalysts for Social Inclusion OBESSU – The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions is the platform for cooperation between the national school student unions active in general secondary and secondary vocational education in Europe. It was founded in April 1975 in Dublin, Ireland and brings together member and observer organisations from more than 20 European countries. All member organisations are independent, national, representative and democratic school student organisations.
OBESSU Rue de la Sablonnière, 20 1000, Brussels Belgium
Mail: obessu@obessu.org Phone: +32 2 6472390 Web: http://www.obessu.org
OBESSU Member and O�erver organisations AKS (Austria), ASuBiH (Bosnia and Herzegovina), CANAE (Spain), DGS (Denmark), DOS (Slovenia), EEO (Denmark), ESCU (Estonia), FSS (Finland), ISSU (Ireland), LH (Denmark), LMS (Lithuania), MAKOSZ (Romania), SIF (Iceland), SLL (Finland), SSUN (Norway), Student Voice (England), SUS (Slovakia), SVEA (Sweden), UDS (Italy), UNL (France), UNSS (Serbia), USO (Switzerland), VSK (Belgium), AEVL (France), NVURH (Croatia), SAKKI (Finland)
Editor:
Anna Widegren
Photographer: Sarah Dejaegher
Graphic design and Layout: Janne Nurmi
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In Cooperation With:
With Support Of:
This project was funded with the support from the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the Danish Ministry of Children and Education and Niels Brock – Copenhagen Business College. This publication reflects only the views of the author, and the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the Danish Ministry of Children and Education and Niels Brock cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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Art and sport as means to tackle social inclusion Hreiðar Már Árnason OBESSU Board Member 2010 - 2012
In May 2012, OBESSU held a conference on the topic of how we as education stakeholders would like to see art and sport used as tools to tackle social inclusion, in Copenhagen, Denmark. This publication includes some contributions from the experts at the conference, but mostly reflections and outcomes which participants wanted to include and bring home with them to their own national School Student organisations. As OBESSU aims at making the everyday life of School Students the best it can be, by empowering our members on a national level and by creating a strong united front as the representatives of the School Students of Europe. In our work we strive for innovation and creativity, by using non-formal methods. By working together we believe that we can be inclusive and comprehensive, not only in what we do, but also how we do it, adapting and developing in order for us to be able to connect and work with people from different social and cultural backgrounds. It is from there we get a lot of our strength, the unity despite the diversity, and that is exactly
how we envision the schools of tomorrow. We have for a long time in OBESSU talked about the importance of creativity, art and sport in education, in order to challenge students and give them freedom for expression. We wanted to focus the conference on the massive possibilities that art and sport provide to promote cultural understanding and dialogue, both within and outside of school. We wanted to show that they can be used as tools to foster social inclusion, and can be alternative methods of learning. By gaining knowledge on culture and diversity we gain a better understanding of the world we live in. Sport and the arts have since long before been recognised as key aspects of fighting xenophobia, racism, bullying and other issues related to social inclusion. At this conference, we gave students the right to express themselves as individuals and to learn from each other. I am very proud with the participation and the outcomes we had and would like to thank the Prep-team for the hard work and for contributing to OBESSU’s work.
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A word from the Prep-team Daša Koribanicová - Prep-team member and OBESSU Board member 2012-14 Each OBESSU event involves a lot of people making sure that everything runs smoothly, workshops are ready, guests are coming, all travels are booked, and even details such as if there is enough coffee at the coffee break are taken care of. The conference entitled Art and Sport as Catalysts for Social Inclusion was definitely not an exception. OBESSU events are not solely prepared by the Board and Secretariat: there is also a prep-team (selected through an open call) who is in charge of the design, implementation and follow-up of the event. Our team was maybe smaller than usual but our responsibilities were not smaller at all. The prep-team meeting which was held a month and a half before the conference took place, in Copenhagen, the same beautiful city where the conference itself was held. From the OBESSU side Zoltán (MAKOSZ) and Daša (SUS) were part of the prep-team, and we had the pleasure of working with Pedro from ISCA (International Sport and Culture Association). Luckily, the team also had a great support from the OBESSU Board and secretariat: Hreiðar (Board member) and Anna (Project and Policy Officer).
The prep-team members: Zoltan, Pedro & Daša
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Pedro Bellini Emmanoelli Daša Koribanicová
Weeks of preparation and work and the actual event goes by so quickly! That’s how it works. The prep-team really hopes that participants left with new knowledge, perspectives, and that their eyes opened a little bit more. We learned many things as well. Without active participation and interesting inputs from participants nothing would be possible, and we proved once again that non-formal education and peer education are strong tools. We learn from each other without realizing we are learning. It can also be very creative and everyone feels that they are included in the process: and that’s what one of the aims of the conference and the prep-team was!
Zoltán Török-Czirmay
Art and sport are two huge topics and Social Inclusion is not any smaller. We had hard times choosing what to cover and how to approach the topic. Having only a limited number of days to cover everything seemed like an impossible task, and indeed: covering everything would have been impossible! But this was not the aim: the aim was to give the participants the attitudes, skills and knowledge to work further on the topic, to continue exploring, to learn methods of using art and sport as a means to Social Inclusion. We wanted to give a new perspective, new insights which participants could build on, and grab inspiration when they got back home to their own organisations.
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Pedro Contribution Pedro Bellini Emmanoelli - Prep-team member, ISCA (EVS Youth Officer at the International Sports and Culture Association)
Enriched by the expertise of the International Sport and Culture Association’s work, the Sport and physical activity sessions at the conference aimed to create a common understanding and awareness of what is sport? The values behind the practices, as well as experiencing physical activities that could possibly be used towards this end. Believing and promoting the values of the grassroots sports, ISCA’s contribution to this conference was particularly focused on delivering the message: “it is all about the values”. By bringing a theoretical definition of sports and taking it as one piece of the bigger picture of physical activity, the proposal was to develop the comprehension that not only sports games can promote Social Inclusion, but any kind of physical exercise: the success of the initiative will depend, among other factors, on its values. Thus, an important milestone for the conference learning curve, for the participants and facilitator, was to experience physically what was discussed theoreti-
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cally. The workshop with alternative methods and materials (plastic bags and acrobatic gymnastics) besides a higher level of participation and fun, brought a good opportunity to see and reflect on how our values and/or objectives can define the social outcomes of the interactions among people. The Conference in Copenhagen was, undeniably, an intensive learning process for all the ones involved. The Preparatory Team, composed by persons with different backgrounds, faced the challenge of developing ideas and proposals that were only on papers. The participants, with their various expectations, accepted the challenge of studying, participating and, perhaps the most important, interacting with the proposed agenda for those days. The Art and Sport as Catalysis for Social Inclusion conference was a clear example of how people can, when carrying the same values and principles, overcome their differences and obstacles in order to reach their goals.
A little about ISCA Mission Statement “We build international relations between people, cultures, organizations and sectors. Seeing sport as a culture of movement, we develop opportunities for learning inspiration and action to induce social change.” The INTERNATIONAL SPORT AND CULTURE ASSOCIATION (ISCA) is a global platform open to organizations working within the field of sport for all, recreational sports and physical activity. ISCA conceives sport as an integral part of civic life and promotes active participation through attractive offers that encourage the citizens’ involvement in sports, health-related exercises, recreational activities, leisure activities and games. ISCA and its members act as enablers of physical activity, operating locally, nationally and internationally. Understanding and acting upon people’s expectations and demands is the daily challenge for our members and it is our key task to support them in meeting these demands and in being front-runners in spotting and developing new trends.
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The Journey Through Image Theatre Chloe and Tom tell us about the Image Theatre sessions Chloe Whipple and Tom Pritchard
Image Theatre? Chloe: Our aim for the week with OBESSU was to introduce the members taking part in the workshop to a method of Theatre that can facilitate change and can be a very clear starting point to opening the floor for discussion. The method we employed is called “Image Theatre”, taken from the Brazilian Theatre director, writer and politician Augusto Boal, who founded Theatre of the Oppressed. Image Theatre is based on non-verbal communication and uses the body as the tool to communicate emotions, situations and themes. It aims at empowering individuals to change what is happening in their society.
From Exclusion to Inclusion Chloe: The central question was “how can Art and Sport be a catalyst for social inclusion?” It got us thinking, and what was interesting for me was this idea of “exclusion and inclusion” being quite clear opposites, and how we could implement a theatrical tool to explore the “in-between” section. We soon realized that the most important thing to explore was the journey from Exclusion to Inclusion.
Method used Tom: First of all, part of the process was to look at physicalizing the participants. The ‘game-playing’ - the physical activity and text-work - was done in order for participants to find a place that was almost a more childish state of being, a more open state of being. We then looked at these structures of social change, social resolution and led the participants through the process of thinking about the idea of “exclusion and inclusion,” to take this with them in order to open up the conversation.
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Aim: Image Theatre as starting point for conversation Tom: We wanted to find a different depth to the conversations by working with image theatre and their genuine placement within the situations of exclusion and inclusion. It’s not just about intellectualizing it, but it’s about the experience of exclusion and inclusion, and passing back those sentiments, those feelings, in order for that to be the starting point for conversation.
Universal body language Chloe: Because of the many languages that were in the room, we felt that using the body also meant that there was a universal understanding between the members; it also lowered any risk of colloquial insults or verbal misunderstanding. Tom: Indeed, by working non-verbally you are able to avoid misunderstandings. Actually, body language - being perhaps a more universally understood form of language - allowed us to access the participants on a level playing field, despite the difference of cultures and backgrounds. Tom: I think - being from very different backgrounds and from different cultures - the access to image theatre is at different speeds and at different junctures on the way. The engagement in it has been very good, and if feels like everyone has found some sort of anchor within the work in order to join in with the discussions.
The body as communicator Chloe:: Throughout the week it has been really nice for the participants themselves to realize how strong body language is. You don’t necessarily need to use a lot of language to show what you are feeling. Image theatre gives an open floor to using the body as a language as opposed to the voice and spoken language. Understanding that by making a really small change in the face, suddenly the meaning of the way one is standing changes. For them to start to have the awareness of how important their body is as a communicator – not just the voice.
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What is Social Inclusion? When looking into how art and sport can be catalysts for Social Inclusion, one must begin by exploring the concept of “Social Inclusion� itself. In the beginning of the event participants were presented with six quotes about Social Inclusion, and asked to identify which one
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they best felt described it. They were then asked to explore together in smaller groups what they felt Social Inclusion means and write or adapt a new quote which they felt described the meaning of Social Inclusion. Check out what they came up with:
1.
An inclusive society is one that allows all to be their authentic selves and bring together their full equal voice to the table, without fear of being rejected or discriminated against.
2.
Inclusion is the first step towards understanding
3.
An inclusive community is one in which people have no barriers in economic, social, political and cultural life
4. Tolerance is the essential ingredient in any discussion
5. Why do we exclude? Because we are afraid of the unknown. Why should we include? Because we break down the fears. When you include others, you include yourself into the knowledge‌
6.
If you want to develop an interactive neighbourhood, including everyone is one way to do it: - We need to include everyone; it’s the only way to develope society - Giving everyone basic rights - Giving everyone the chance to pursue happiness - Giving everyone the cultural tools to live critically (access to education) - Reduce the social differences - Value the different abilities appropriately
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Social Inclusion and Exclusion The Definition of Social In-
About Exclusion
clusion Social inclusion can be defined as many different things. First of all, to be a part of a successful inclusion process, the will to be included and to include must be mutual. When you want social inclusion to be successful you have to set the scene for it to be possible; this means that the individual, or any given person in the group must be ready to begin the process of inclusion. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the bigger group (who are usually expected to make the first step) has to be active in including the subject, it could just as well be the person/group that wants to be included that takes the initiative. But as mentioned earlier – all parties must be willing to make the inclusion happen.
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When talking about social inclusion and especially the lack of it, it is very relevant to take a look at social exclusion. The following chart over social exclusion is the result of the many discussions and evaluations during the sessions of the OBESSU conference “Art and Sport as Catalysts for Social Inclusion”.
Inclusion Banana Inclusion Banana gives you a guideline of the process of exclusion to inclusion At first is the part where you think “What is the origin of the exclusion?”. “Who's responsible for the situation?” (eg. Group or individual) and “How does it spread?” You have to do thorough assessment of the matter at hand. After that you move to process of analysis. You have to think about “what is the effect of exclusion in your community?” and “are you fully aware of everything that is happening?” You need to make sure that you have the full picture. After you have the parameters set, comes the part where you make the strategy for action so you can solve the
issue. It is time for claiming your voice and action. When you have taken action the next part is to evaluate - “is everyone happy? Was your idea/project/action successful?” For the final part you reflect upon everything which was done and start over if you're not happy about the outcome. Inclusion Banana guides you through the whole process from exclusion to inclusion. The importance of recognising the problems concerning exclusion to inclusion.
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What is Art? The Definition of Art We, as the school student union representatives of Europe, discussed the meaning and definition of art, during a workshop which was part of the conference “Art and Sport as Catalysts for Social Inclusion” During the discussions many different and interesting views were presented. Some of them said; “Art is the juice of life”, whilst others claimed that “Art is everything produced with the intention of having an aesthetic value in addition to a practical one or only an aesthetic one.” The various definitions resemble the fact that art is something subjective, and must be interpreted from one’s individual point of view. However a broad consensus was
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reached regarding that “art is a way of expressing yourself through a medium, material or immaterial” This includes, but is not limited to; literature, performing arts, photography, architecture, painting and many more. During our several workshops on the topic, we also discussed to what extent can different products and activities be considered art? We tried to differentiate the arts, based on criteria such as originality, intention of the creator or performer, aesthetic value etc., but we were unable to reach a unanimous agreement. This due to the fact that representatives were both unwilling and unable to categorize and differentiate between the different artworks which were shown.
Different Definitions of Art 1.
3.
Art is subjective experience in a certain moment, space and time, when you face it. And its always changing. There is also meaning in art.
Art is art, if it is meant to be art. Art is a way of expressing yourself. Each individual deciphers for themselves what art is.
Art is everything produced with the intention of having an aesthetic value in addition to a practical one or only an aesthetic one.
Art is art. It is your personal meaning that matters.
Art is the juice of life.
5. Art is a man-made concept.
2. Every creation, material or imma-
terial, that provokes a process of reflection or expression emotion can be considered art; after all, it’s a lot about subjective impressions.
4.
6.
Art is what makes a subconscious movement to/of the observer
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The Difference between Physical Activity and Sport Simona Pavúková Physical activity Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that require energy expenditure. Regular moderate intensity physical activity – such as walking, cycling, or participating in sports – has significant benefits for health. For instance, it can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, colon and breast cancer, and depression. Moreover adequate levels of physical activity will decrease the risk of a hip or vertebral fracture and help control weight (World Health Organisation).
Sport Sports are usually governed by a set of rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition, and allow consistent adjudication of the winner. Winning can by determined by physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first, or by the determination of judges who are scoring elements of the sporting performance, including objective or subjective measures such as technical performance or artistic impressioni1. Sport (exercise) is a specific form of physical activity — planned, purposeful physi-
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cal activity performed with the intention of acquiring fitness or other health benefits. Working out at a health club, swimming, cycling, running, and sports, like golf and tennis, are all forms of exercise (sport)2. The term "sport" originally meant any sort of entertaining diversion, but its meaning evolved to encompass loftier notions of physical prowess, competition and a high standard of behaviour known as sportsmanship3. Physical activity may or may not involve sports, but sports almost always require physical activity.
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Sport#cite_notecouncil-1 2 http://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness/basics/ difference-between-exercise-and-physical-activity. aspx 3 http://www.livestrong.com/ article/531987-differencebetween-sports-exercise/
Yoga in a Classroom Toomas Laigu, ESCU
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline originating in ancient India and today it is concerned to be one of the best tools to work on your body and brain in the same time! Yoga is a great way to relax your brain from the hard study/work. As we all know, our secondary education is mostly very theoretical and done within one position.
I can already imagine how the teachers invite their students out of the class and present some interesting exercises to imitate. Making yoga exercises as a part of everyday school-life can make our studies more productive and interesting!
Yoga has a great variety of different exercises that can help you to develop within all the bodyparts. Also, even just simple stretching can help relaxing the brains from the concentrated work. Small workout in/out the classroom and oxygen comes like “crazy�. One of the biggest insults for the teachers are usually school students yawning in the classroom. But really the cause is because of lack of oxygen. So there is a big need for some physical activity. Yoga with its various exercises can be practiced in the classroom, as well as outside the class. I believe yoga to be an excellent way to get great amount of oxygen making studies more effective.
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Wood-shop elective. Art & crafts in lower secondary schools are compulsory. Academic upper secondary schools have 2 compulsory courses of art, either music or art. The focus and amount of culture studies depends on the focus of studies (major).
Music is a mandatory subject for the 10 years of education. Art & crafts- from 1st to 10th grade: 2-4 hours a week.
In upper-secondary school the only way of learning about music is through facts.
Finland
Norway
Estonia
Minimum one year of art.
Very few secondary schools offer concrete art or sport activities. Drama department and/or choir is the first to be cut down if the school has them. Special art education system: it is hard to do any art for students that are not in these special schools.
Iceland
Denmark
ART
COUNTRY
In sport class standards are often more important than progress.
PE 2-4 hours per week in all levels of schools Almost all schools have sports day.
PE is compulsory in lower secondary schools. In academic upper secondary schools there are 2 compulsory courses of PE. In VET, physical and health education are voluntary after 18 but when you attend both, academic and VET it is not compulsory.
Sport is generally taught throughout whole education.
You are obliged to attend sport classes, (both physical and theoretical) until you graduate. If you fail any of them, you cannot graduate Most schools have good facilities Physical Education system is not modern and there is no place for changes in program for persons with different abilities.
SPORT
INTERESTING FACTS
Many schools offer free after school activities.
Upper secondary school programmes about sport, art, drama, theatre and music Easily accessible schools focusing on art or sport.
Every upper secondary school has to offer at least 5 PE courses, 5 music courses and 5 art courses. There are specialized upper secondary schools: art, sport, media, & drama.
Student council make different art and sport activities.
Alternative teaching methods are rarely used in class. Teachers don’t know the methods and there is no-one to offer training.
Art is an element in all relevant subjects.
Primary and secondary schools use art and sport in a lot of things to teach students different things.
Involvement of art and sport in other subjects
The table below illustrates the differences in the School Systems in Europe in regards to the art and sport curricula.
is being ignored, and using art and sport as an alternative, non-formal method of education is very rarely considered relevant.
Physical Education (PE) is obligatory and if you fail the class, you cannot graduate.
During the conference, we realized that involvement of art and sport is very different in each country’s educational system. Sadly, with our members and observers we came to a conclusion that art and sport are taught as separate subjects, mostly in a practical way, theory is included in the curricula but it
Kids have singing and art classes. Students are also given cultural tickets and they can use them when they go to cinema or theatre and they pay less so more people can afford to go.
Art classes in secondary education are not as important as other subjects.
Optional courses: Writing, painting, singing & drama courses.
Slovakia
Bosnia and Herzegovina Romania
In almost all high schools (except for some VET schools) at least 2 hours a week of Art are compulsory. In the most cases Art concerns only History of Art and is not practical. There are some Art High Schools as well. Technical drawing is sometimes included in Art and it is the only practical moment of the subject.
PE involves basic sports, ball games, athletics.
Art history/music history is compulsory for 1 year of high school. Many schools offer additional optional classes (music, art).
Slovenia
Italy
PE classes are lacking in 2 last years of secondary schools.
Art classes exist only in general secondary schools and they are mainly theory oriented.
Serbia
Sport is obligatory for all high schools, two hours a week. It originally includes both practical and theoretical sport education, but the theory is always avoided.
PE is obligatory in each year of primary, secondary or high school.
PE is compulsory in all secondary schools, all 4 years.
Sport is extremely appreciated. Every secondary school has PE classes and they are mainly organised to practise a certain sport, aiming to gain skills and improve health.
2 hours of PE per week. They have specialized sport schools.
First 2 years of secondary school, students have 1 or 2 hours per week of art. After that it depends on what you study.
Belgium
PE is obligatory. Boys and girls are separated. Normally 2 hours per week.
Art in every school.
3 hours of PE per week, boys and girls are separated. Sports day. Cross-country running. Sports competitions.
Students take 1 hour of PE per week until the age of 16.
Sport in small cities is not so good. On the other hand, in big cities it is becoming better because of funding by which schools get to renew facilities.
Austria
Exhibitions of paintings made by students. There are art and music lessons.
Students have to take art, drama and music until the age of 14 and then choose to continue or not.
England
Switzerland
Music lessons in school are improving. There are human resources and great inventory.
Lithuania
For the first two years practical sport is gender divided. Then according to the school facilities some sport are played. Volley-ball is the most common one. The schools often organise internal and local completions of basket-ball, volley-ball and table tennis.
Students are given ‘educational tickets’ which they can use for one free after school activity (either sport or art or something related to their subjects) they can even take it out of school and use it there.
Options for successful students to change their schedules to be able to attend their trainings.
Schools get extra money to establish new special art classes for informal education.
Unfortunately there is little involvement of Art and Sport with the other subjects.
Students can’t express themselves through sport and art.
Not really, students sometimes watch films related to topic.
The use of art and sport is really underestimated. Sport and art are used only during specific classes; it is not integrated in other classes.
Cool Classes Even though art and sport are not very incorporated in other subjects or formal education in general, we had many great ideas of how it could and should look like. We believe classes would be more interesting and students would learn more if we could combine traditional ways of learning with art and sport. How do we think it could look? It's Monday morning. The school bell has just announced the beginning of long day filled with information, studying and tests. Language class, literature, biology and history are on today's curricula and the students are looking forward to each of the classes! What is it about this particular curriculum that students are looking forward to?
First class : Language class Energizer
Evaluation
The day and the class start off with a simple fun energizer to get the students into a good working mood and give them energy. The students decide among themselves what or which energizer(s) they want to do. Not every day or every student is the same.
Before the class ends everyone will have their chance to evaluate how the thought the class went. What the learnt from it and what they think might be improved in order for them to learn the language better.
Song Is there any better way to learn a language by singing in it? Songs get stuck in your head and you remember new words more easily and practise your pronunciation. Specific grammar songs are the best way to remember odd grammar rules. Learning languages doesn’t have to be boring.
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Second class : Literature Debate The students were given a book to read and now they have the opportunity to dig deeper into the book with a little debate. They will get the chance to talk about how they interpreted the book, what they learnt from it and their feelings towards the book.
Drawing/Painting After the debate the students have some time to work with their feelings on the book and get to paint or draw them down. Drawing/painting is good to express feelings and reflect.
Third class : Biology
Fourth class : History Simulation What better way to remember specific historic events than to act them out? The class was split into groups and each group has to re-enact an historic event for each other. Debriefing After everyone has had their chance to act out their roles the students gather for a discussion where they can talk more about the events they re-enacted so they will remember them more accurately.
Hiking
What is a better way of learning new things that to go out and see them for yourself. The students go hiking in the woods and look at different types of trees and leaves and some inhabitants of the tree. Then their route takes them past a lake where all sorts of fish and water plants live. Body exercise
Test
Yoga
Taking a test can be a bit stressful so their curricula offers them a space to do some yoga and relaxing exercises before the test that gets them more focused to take the test.
The added bonus with going for hikes in Biology is that it is also a physical activity in the nature.
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Reflections from participants Paula
The Conference "Art and Sport as Catalysts for Social Inclusion" was a real eye opener. The exercises and workshops held had a clear focus on informal learning, and it was great to see how we through for example theater could have very candid discussions about what inclusion is and how arts and sports can be used to achieve inclusion. It was great that the participants were given space to create and produce things ourselves, and that the discussions we had weren’t facilitated in such a strong way by the prep-team, but that we ourselves could decide what direction the discussions were going to go. Thought provoking, informative and fun!
Paula- FSS When “sport“ is said, ‘competition’, ‘action; and ‘exhaustion’ come to my mind. That is also what I had expected before the conference “Art and Sport as catalysts for social inclusion” started. To be
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sincere, I was really happy that not only sport was mentioned in this name. Not because I do not like sport (I do!), but I was glad I could get better at art which I am very interested in. When I came to
Copenhagen and this event started, I was so curious about everything - the conference, the people, and the new experience. Although we were in Scandinavia, we were very lucky because of the beautiful sunny weather which made our week even better. I really enjoyed sport courses with Pedro. It was great to see how is it possible to use seemingly useless things such as plastic bags and creating something new based on our cooperation. The Drama course with Chloe and Tom was also very educational and interesting (I admired new ideas and their growing with the other ones!). I think our creativity developed a lot during these courses. I met many great people, so new friendship across-boards have started. I can say this OBESSU event has exceeded my expectations! Petra
Petra-SUS Kristen
When I came to Copenhagen, I expected interesting discussions where we share our experiences and concerns with alternative methods used in schools. But instead we were shown the ways and opportunities through actually trying them ourselves. And by the end of the conference I was disappointed not having gotten what I expected. But when I got back home, I actually saw the effect it had on me. I keep seeing so many things I can do to bring all the things we learned to education in my country. At meetings I've actually found myself saying: ,,We can use the methods we learned in Copenhagen!'' The conference definitely made a difference for ESCU.
ESCU - Kristen 25
Art and Sport as Catalysts for Social Inclusion Participants
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OBESSU – The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions is the platform for cooperation between the national school student unions active in general secondary and secondary vocational education in Europe. It was founded in April 1975 in Dublin, Ireland and brings together member and observer organisations from more than 20 European countries. All member organisations are independent, national, representative and democratic school student organisations.
OBESSU Rue de la Sablonnière, 20 1000, Brussels Belgium Mail: obessu@obessu.org Phone: +32 2 6472390 Web: http://www.obessu.org