UNESCO – MAP National Dialogue on Culture & Arts Education

Mobile Arts for Peace (MAP) is a four-year international, multi-disciplinary project which provides a comparative approach on the use of interdisciplinary arts-based practices for peacebuilding in Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda, and Indonesia. It is a collaborative project between universities, cultural artists, civil society organisations, and young people across the world. It seeks to address Global Problems through arts-based approaches to create a two-way form of communication between young people and decision-makers. The arts-based approaches have enabled adolescent girls and young women alongside marginalised communities to enhance local knowledge and indigenous practices to serve at the fore of knowledge production. The project is in its final year, and therefore focused on sharing the findings and approaches in relation to Culture & Arts Education. In Nepal, these include: the arts-based outputs during the first year of MAP project (Videos, policy briefs/arts and civic education), and three ongoing MAP projects:

1. Picturing Past Present & Future: Mithila Arts Exhibition; Photo Collages; Cross country experience sharing (Nepal & Rwanda) 

2. Inter-generational Dialogue: Image Theatre demo led by youth researchers (YAARs); Community Curriculum Guide; Photos & Videos 

3. Deuda Folklore: Exploring ways of seeking inclusion of young people/women in cultural and arts-based interactions via Deuda performance 

The UNESCO office in Kathmandu with its new country strategy “Placing Culture at the Heart of Development” is extensively expanding its capacity and outreach towards enhancing the cultural and creative industry (CCI) focusing on youth and gender justice. With this new framework, UNESCO Kathmandu office is working on the Creative Cities Network (UCCN) which is a global network of 300+ cities from all over the world to strengthen the cultural assets of the city and help in promotion of local creative economy as a showcase for the world.  Two cities from Nepal – Kathmandu and Lalitpur – have successfully submitted their application, respectively as creative cities for Film and Music.  

Together both UNESCO and the MAP project, based at the University of Lincoln, UK bring emerging evidence and promising practices as to how Culture and Arts Education can be conceived of, and integrated into national frameworks. However, this also requires the knowledge, experience, and learnings from other important actors in this field, including [list important stakeholders being invited here]. The aim of this inter-generational dialogue is therefore to bring together many of the key national stakeholders working in the area of Culture and Arts Education to: 

1) Acknowledge and celebrate national promising practices (through the exhibition, performance, and reflective dialogue sessions); 

2) Generate a road map on how the evidence and promising practices from MAP, UNESCO, and other organisations can inform both formal/informal curriculum development & creative arts pedagogy in the country; 

3) Listen to Policymakers’ reflections/commitments on: opportunities for future collaboration; any policy responses; and their personal reflections on arts methods/youth/arts education.