Why CULPEER?
Lesson 1: Where it all started
Combining cultural techniques with peer learning within creative workshops, involving young people from the Global South and the Global North for the purpose of inclusion and integration, started a number of years before the formation of the so called CULPEER approach. CULPEER as an idea and methodology is rooted in the Kinder Kultur Karawane (Children’s Culture Caravan) initiative, that has been bringing artistic cultural groups from the Global South on educational tours in the Global North for more than 20 years now.
The success of KiKuKa, which the initiators from Germany shared first with Denmark and Austria and then also with Bulgaria, Slovenia and Slovakia within the period of 2010-2012, encouraged a core team to sustainably dedicate time, attention, efforts and resources to making Global South visits possible and effective. Mainly because of the global learning results, which these encounters with young people from very different backgrounds, have on the Global North hosts. Learning about global citizenship, climate change, human rights and gender equality through cultural activities, organized and delivered by experienced young people from another continent, proved to be exceptionally easy. Regardless of the differences in the backgrounds, the young people were always managing to find their way towards each other and the interactions showed them that “we are all one” and that this should be the only way, if we want to leave a world, which we are proud of.
The period of 2010-2012 created the possibility for a strong consortium of NGOs and municipalities to be formed for the purpose of developing and carrying through the “Strengthen Creative Cooperation” EuropeAid project (2014-2016), which incorporated cultural peer learning in activities aimed at supporting the achievement of the Millennium development goals. Groups with circus, drama, dance and acrobatic performances shared with the EU partners in the consortium their knowledge, experience and skills for the sake of achieving a higher level of awareness and activism among the Global North youth.
The cultural and peer learning activities continued after the end of the EuropeAid project with an Erasmus+ initiative, called “CULPEER: Cultural and peer-learning approaches for successful integration of disadvantaged youth and refugees at school level”, supported by the German NA and focused on providing support for youth integration to teachers, students, headmasters, parents, educators and administrators of cultural centers. This endeavor took a step further and developed “Guidelines for integration and application of the CULPEER approach in schools”, engaging with economic, social, educational, ethno-cultural, institutional, health, migration and other reasons behind youth exclusion. The consortium under the initiative also developed online educational modules covering the following topics: Introduction to cultural peer-learning; CPLA for enhancement of key competences; CPLA for integration of disadvantaged youths; CPLA for diversity and equal opportunities; Good practices in cultural peer learning from across the world. This CULPEER initiative ended with a magnificent youth mobility, which engaged young people from all partner countries in a peer-learning cultural effort together with youth from Peru, for the purpose of creating a common performance over a period of 5 days of work in Cologne, Germany - https://youtu.be/fQDlawBeJmE. The performance “Todos somos uno!”, together with the specially developed e-learning contents, was the emanation of what CULPEER achieved in the period 2016-2018.
Lesson 2: How Covid-19 forced us to start considering introducing digital methods
After two years of networking, learning and developing the methods of "CULPEER for integration", its team continued its work with a deep understanding and vast experience concerning how the cultural peer-to-peer approach can contribute to the integration of young refugees and other underprivileged young people. An expanded consortium, including also official partners from Bolivia and Tanzania, continued using that approach for strengthening the Sustainable Development Goals in school curricula under the headline "CULPEER 4 Change” and with the financial support of the DEAR programme. For 3 years (2019-2021) C4C did miracles in continuing the path of cultural peer learning happening between youth and educators from both halves of the Globe. The consortium created thematic murals, conduced influential transcontinental conferences in most partner locations (Bulgaria, Slovenia, Tanzania, Wroclaw, Cologne), implemented common youth initiatives focused on the SDGs (both offline and online due to the new conditions imposed by Covid-19) and developed e-learning content and materials as follows: a module for each of the 3 SDG, central for the project – 16 Children Rights, 13 Climate change and 10 - Migration, also an introductory module to CPL as an approach, a module on diversity and equal opportunities and a module on children’s rights to education – all of these available for 3 different age groups. C4C also created an extended download area with content and videos from all the Global South groups involved in the project – with presentations, performances, messages and tutorials.
C4C was a huge challenge that brought the best out of the partners, forcing them to be creative and engaging and influential in the harshest of covid-19 times. Face-to-face workshops and performances had to shift into the zoom world. Young people had to continue working with each other and exchanging over the internet. The digital divide was present on all continents. Concern and fear were experienced by all parties. After strenuous organizational efforts however, 2021 saw the groups from Africa and Latin America arrive in Europe again.
The benefits from cultural peer-learning in its original form were manifested again:
- Building interpersonal skills, cultural and global literacy: having young people rely on each other within a common effort, you tend to build trust and harmony. The topics tackled in the workshops supported the process of expanding the competences in the target spheres of the project. Interpersonal skills are social skills that help you get along with others and this holds a critical potential in the long-term, encouraging young people to build lasting relationships.
- Improving communication skills. Considering the level of proficiency of the visiting groups, their peer support for developing skills to communicate impactfully and clearly was more than substantial.
- Peer learning leads to developing teamwork skills, because the participants are engaged in tasks, which they cannot complete alone.
- Cultural peer learning brings pure joy to those involved in it, which establishes a healthy environment, which people want to stick to. When this environment takes the shape of a school or a community, the presence of engaged, active, aware and inspired young people is more than appreciated.
Growth and development are fostered as young people learn from each other. When someone is entitled to teach a skill or a bit of knowledge to other peers, he or she will do their best to get to the core of the skills or the topic and to fill in all the possible blanks in order to make the most of the experience – for her/himself as well as for the others.