The research and public relations project "Seen & Heard: Young People's Voices and Freedom of Expression" brings together partner institutions from three countries: the University of Malta, Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin (HU), the University of Wroclaw and Amnesty International Poland and is funded by the EU Erasmus+ programme. The project has now been nominated by the Maltese European Union Programmes Agency (EUPA) as a best practice project for promoting freedom of expression among young people.
The reason given: The project is an inspiring example of how schools can work together with artists and cultural organisations to strengthen civic engagement and democratic attitudes among pupils.
Young people create films and books
Six hundred 10 to 14-year-olds in Malta, Berlin and Wroclaw (Poland) worked together with art, theatre, literature and film education partners on the topic of human and children's rights. In Berlin, the pupils were supported by artists from the Grips Theatre, the Hamburger Bahnhof - Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart and freelance artists. In addition to research results from questionnaires, literature workshops and interviews, films produced by children, a children's book published by Walker Brooks and a docu-narrative about the project were created in the three countries.
The Seen & Heard project
At the centre of "Seen & Heard: Young People's Voices and Freedom of Expression" is the right of young people to freedom of expression and participation in Europe, as enshrined in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The aim of the project is to organise creative protest and freedom of expression together with young people, who are seen as artists and producers in their own right. They were supported by scientists, educators, artists, activists, publishers and political decision-makers. The project is funded by the European Union as part of the Erasmus+ HED Cooperation Partnership project.
As part of the three-year project (2023 to 2026), Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin is responsible for the coordination and academic management of the implementation and research with Berlin students, educators and artists.