The 3rd Children and Youth Conference “Creativity in the Space of Education. Let’s Talk about Culture and Art” is now behind us — and we can say with full conviction that it was a great success!
The event, initiated by the Mikołaj Rej Foundation, co-organised by the INTERKULTURALNI PL Association in cooperation with Bilingualism Matters Krakow, the Jagiellonian University, the Specialist Psychological and Pedagogical Counselling Centre for Children with Educational Difficulties, the Multiculturalism Embassy, ACTIN and the ALPHABETICAeu project, was held under the honorary patronage of the Rector of the Jagiellonian University and the Mayor of the City of Kraków.
Today’s conference showed, above all, the enormous agency of children and young people. The participants were not merely recipients of a conversation about education, culture and the city — they became its full-fledged co-creators. They diagnosed their own school environment, pointing to what supports them, what limits them, what is missing, and what should change so that school can become a more friendly, creative, safe place that responds to the real needs of young people.
The young participants formulated their demands and hopes, shared their experiences, and talked about how they would like to make use of the city’s cultural and educational offer. A particularly important element of the meeting was the opportunity to ask questions to representatives of city departments and cultural institutions. Children and young people asked directly how municipal activities, programmes and offers could be better adapted to their needs, forms of participation, interests and everyday experiences.
It was a day of genuine intergenerational dialogue, listening and cooperation. The conference confirmed that children and young people not only have the right to have a voice, but also an extraordinary ability to accurately describe reality, identify problems and propose solutions.
We would like to thank all participants, partners, patrons, and representatives of public institutions and cultural institutions for their presence, openness and willingness to engage in dialogue. Today’s meeting showed that education and culture can be a space co-created together with young people — and not only for them.
