Frankfurt Declaration Released

In October, delegates from around the world gathered in Frankfurt, Germany at an international conference hosted by the World Alliance for Arts Education. The work of 180 experts from 47 nations produced The Frankfurt Declaration, a new international document calling for “transformative action for arts education as being integral to sustaining communities and meeting the needs of all people in the face of critical global challenges.” The Declaration was released on November 19, 2019.

Building on the Seoul Agenda, which was produced in 2010, the Frankfurt Declaration asserts, “the rights for all in formal, informal and non-formal education, to an enriching and humanising education in, with and about the arts – dance, drama, music and visual arts in all their diverse forms.” These bold statements were constructed through a multi-day collaborative effort exploring challenging themes and emerging topics in the field of arts education.

The Declaration goes on to note the importance of education and culture within the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs):

Noting the importance of Education for Sustainable Development which “aims to help people to develop attitudes, skills, perspectives and knowledge to make informed decisions and act upon them for the benefit of themselves and others, now and in the future” with a view to helping “the citizens of the world to learn their way to a more sustainable future” as an important aspect of culture and cultural diversity, empowered by cultural and arts education. 

Most notably, deep in the demands of the Declaration sits a new and challenging outlook for the role of arts education as a vehicle of empowerment for the voices of young people in the discourse of the challenges facing communities today:

“The Frankfurt Declaration celebrates the unprecedented arts performances linked to climate change movements led by children and young people throughout the world. It asserts arts education as a right for all towards the nurturing of a paradigm of solidarity, cooperation and good living”

This new approach to advocacy for arts education recognizes the longstanding traditions found around the world named, “youth arts,” “creative youth development,” “community arts,” and “participatory arts” over time. 

Jeff M. Poulin, founder and managing director of Creative Generation, was in attendance and shared the foundational research of the organization, which led to rich discussion recognizing the voices of young people in the discussion about arts education. Further, the research asserts a new outlook recognizing the vehicle which arts and cultural education provides to enable young people to participate in broader conversations about societal and global issues.

As such, Creative Generation fully endorses the Frankfurt Declaration and commits to  supporting its influence with decision-makers in the numerous sectors and regions in which it works. 

Read the Frankfurt Declaration here.