ALPHABETICA – Activating Learning Paths: Holistic Arts-Based Education and Training for Inclusion and Cultural Awareness is a European research project exploring the potential of arts and arts-based education to foster inclusion, cultural awareness, creativity, and lifelong learning.
The project places particular emphasis on children and young people at risk of poverty or social exclusion, for whom access to arts, cultural experiences, and quality educational opportunities may be limited.
ALPHABETICA is based on the understanding that art is not only a form of cultural expression but also a powerful educational and social tool. Through creative and participatory processes, the arts can contribute to critical thinking, creativity, emotional expression, a stronger sense of belonging, and young people’s active engagement with their communities.
Project objectives
ALPHABETICA explores how children, young people, families, teachers, educators, and policymakers perceive arts and arts-based education, as well as the impact that active participation in artistic and creative processes can have on the development of children and young people.
The project uses participatory and co-creative methodologies to develop and test new approaches to learning through the arts.
Particular attention is given to developing training programmes for teachers and educators, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and methodologies needed to implement arts-based education across formal, non-formal, and informal educational settings.
Another key objective is to provide evidence-based recommendations that can contribute to the future development of educational and cultural policies across Europe.
12 pilot actions across Europe
The transformative potential of arts and arts-based education is being explored in practice through 12 pilot actions implemented across eight European countries.
The pilots take place in diverse environments – from schools and universities to libraries, cultural and community spaces, and other informal and non-formal educational settings.
They involve children and young people of different ages and social backgrounds, together with teachers, educators, artists, families, researchers, and representatives of local communities.
A common element across the pilot actions is the use of co-creation and Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), ensuring that children and young people are not merely participants but actively contribute to designing and implementing the activities.
From art to social transformation
ALPHABETICA aims to demonstrate how artistic expression can become a driver of educational and social transformation.
The project explores how engagement with the arts can help young people develop creativity, critical thinking, and self-expression while strengthening their ability to understand themselves, others, and the communities to which they belong.
Research findings and lessons from the pilot actions will be transformed into practical resources for the education, cultural, and public sectors, including reports, policy briefs, handbooks, training tools, methodological toolkits, recommendations, and roadmaps.
The project also develops Living Labs and other spaces for dialogue and knowledge exchange between young people, teachers, educational institutions, policymakers, and other stakeholders across Europe.
Project partners
ALPHABETICA brings together a multidisciplinary consortium of academic institutions, educational organisations, civil society organisations, and other relevant stakeholders from across Europe.
The project is coordinated by:
- Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna (Italy)
Project partners are:
- Open University
- Oxford Brookes University
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
- Università di Torino
- Young Ambassadors
- Interkulturalni
- Elhuyar
- União dos Refugiados em Portugal
- Universidade Nova de Lisboa
- SYNTHESIS Center for Research and Education
- Save the Children
- Ministero della Cultura
The project is also implemented under the honorary patronage of the Polish Ministry of Education.
ALPHABETICA works towards an educational environment where art is not simply an addition to learning, but a means of creating more inclusive, creative, and connected communities where no child or young person is left behind.
Programme: Horizon Europe
Grant Agreement: 101177819
Coordinator: Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna