Résidence secondaire – une expérience créative et collective de la citoyenneté et de l’inclusion active sur le thème de l’espace public

We realised that it had become essential to find solutions to the feeling of mistrust that European citizens have towards their institutions. Our consortium therefore decided to apply to Eramsus+ to work together to find innovative and inclusive solutions to develop and support citizen participation and social inclusion. Our initial position was that it was necessary to bring together actors from different disciplines (art, science, education, politics, etc.) that reflect our contemporary society, to respond to this need that runs through it.

The aim of the RSEU project was to : - Strengthen the skills of people facing socio-economic difficulties (analysis, listening, empathy, adaptability, cooperation, sociability, sharing emotions, communication) to enable them to participate actively in democratic and civic life and to advance social inclusion. Ø To develop an innovative and replicable educational method for revitalising citizenship and public space at local level by combining the skills and shared experience of citizens, artists, researchers and public decision-makers. Ø To raise awareness among the inhabitants of 5 European cities, with priority given to people facing socio-economic difficulties, of the fact that we share a common destiny in Europe, by involving them in an educational process of artistic creation, to encourage them to transform their perceptions and sharpen their critical thinking about the role of our institutions. The project was to involve 1,400 people directly, and the results were then to be disseminated to over 40,000 people.

To reach its objectives, the multidisciplinary consortium implemented two training modules and a dissemination programme in the 5 project cities (Lisbon, L'Hospitalet del Llobregat, Graz, Brussels and Rennes): - 15 focus groups (3 per city) between June 2022 and May 2023, which brought together adults facing socio-economic difficulties, researchers, students, public decision-makers, local resource people and structures, and other adults. These focus groups reached 225 people. - 5 residencies (1 per city) between October 2022 and June 2023, which brought together an artist, a local resident and a public decision-maker for 7 days of immersion in an area. The residencies reached 220 people and 52 local structures (associations, businesses, communities, etc.), - 5 action-research projects (1 per city) by 5 researchers in the human and social sciences, who accompanied and analysed the training process; - An international dissemination programme based on the public presentation of the 5 works produced following the residencies and on the dissemination of the various results of the activities and project (website, guides, replicability kits and scientific analysis) to reach over 4,500 people directly.

RSEU has produced the following outputs: - Activity results: the reports from the 3 transnational seminars, the reports from the 4 transmission meetings, the logbooks and notes of intent from the residencies, the 5 works of visual or living art and the qualitative evaluation report. - The results of the project: a website, a series of guides, a replicability kit for the citizens' focus groups, a replicability kit for the residencies, and a scientific analysis. - A communication kit: including the press pack, press review and announcements in the local, national and European media and to the various stakeholders as the project progresses.