Making democracy stronger through creativity

The more you know about something like democracy, the more you engage with it and want to preserve it.

This is the idea behind CIVIC STAGE, a major Horizon Europe research project in which the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Arts and Education is a partner.

The project is a response to concerns about polarisation, misinformation and the appeal of anti-democratic ideas among some young people, says Nancy November, the faculty’s Associate Dean Research and a professor of musicology in the School of Creative Arts.

“The plan is to develop creative, inclusive ways for young people to engage with democracy, civic identity and community life.

CIVIC STAGE will deliver citizenship education in fun, interesting ways through participatory theatre, community arts and digital teaching tools, she says.

It will train facilitators and pilot theatre and game-related learning methods, as well as producing toolboxes, training modules and policy recommendations for educators and policymakers.

Researchers from the Faculty of Arts and Education will lead the development of the project’s eight training modules, including those on global citizenship and transcultural responsibility and diversity, and will contribute to the digital Backstage (open-source framework created by Spotify for building developer portals) component.

“This project is significant,” says November, “because it places the faculty within an ambitious international consortium working at the intersection of arts practice, education, civic engagement, youth wellbeing and social inclusion.”

She says the University team brings “distinctive Aotearoa expertise” in applied theatre, arts education, environmental communication, youth arts, inclusive education, and community-engaged research to the table.

“Our involvement highlights the faculty’s capacity to contribute to global debates about how the arts can foster democratic participation, intercultural understanding, and young people’s agency.

“It also opens up pathways for international collaboration, research impact, and policy influence,” says November.

The project will involve training at least 160 facilitators and pilot methods with approximately 3,200 young people. It will include 10 European Union members based in nine countries, with pilots in 11 countries.

Horizon Europe is the European Union’s key funding programme for research and innovation.