Coordinators of Art ConnectiON Project Come Together in Beşiktaş

Carried out in cooperation with NGOs from Spain, Italy and Poland, Project Coordinators’ Meeting of the “Art ConnectiON” European Union Erasmus+ Project was hosted by Beşiktaş Municipality. 

Art ConnectiON is a project carried out thanks to the strategic partnership between Spain, Italy, Poland, and Turkey for the under-resourced and disabled youth funded by European Union Erasmus+ Projects. While the project is managed by the Imagina Association, based in Malaga working with disabled people, Beşiktaş Municipality is the project's representative partner in Turkey.

Introduced in September, 2021; the Art ConnectiON project aims to protect physical and mental health of the under-resourced and disabled youth who were excluded from social life and could not keep up with the mobility in digital environments during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project implements cultural and artistic activities in order to achieve its objective, and it also deals with the development of digital tools by drawing attention to individuals with disabilities and their special needs in this new world order during the post-pandemic period, as well as supporting their mental health with creativity in the scenario of any crisis, or social isolation. The project's priority objectives include the development of social, digital, and artistic skills, the formation of more inclusive youth mobility opportunities for young people with disabilities, and the promotion of alternative models to increase the visibility of young people with disabilities on social media.

Starting in November, 2021 with the coordinators’ meeting in Malaga, the project continued with the training series held in Italy, Sicily in May, 2022. Prior to this training, the local needs of each group were identified, and the content of the training was shaped in line with these needs. The educational materials emerged during and after the trainings, were implemented with local activities and put to test. The results of these trials and the mid-evaluation of the project have been achieved at the meeting held in Poland in November, 2022. The multiplier event of the project has been held at Beşiktaş Zübeyde Ana Cultural Center on 2 March 2023, with the participation of people with disabilities, young people, youth workers, representatives from local and international NGOs, university workers, consular representatives, and teachers. Following the multiplier event, the coordinators’ meeting held on 13-16 March 2023 under the leadership of Beşiktaş Municipality, featured the evaluation of the project progress and the comprehensive review of the road map.