Erasmus+ 2019

Erasmus+ Report

Trinity College Dublin Ca’ Foscari University of Venice Erasmus University Science Gallery International

Key Aims of the Erasmus+ Mobility Programme:

Science Gallery: Re-Engaging Youth Audiences For Future Ideas, Training, and

• Increase the skills and competencies of young people and youth workers

Opportunities

• Support interaction between young people from different cultural backgrounds

European residents are so lucky to have access

This Youth Exchange was hosted by Science

• Promote social inclusion and solidarity amongst young people

to the Erasmus+ programme. For all of the

Gallery International in the heart of Dublin

• Empower young people to be active citizens and have a voice in decision

technologies that have been invented and make

City Centre, birthplace of the Science Gallery

the world a smaller, more accessible place,

Network. The participants of this Youth

• Support young people to access the labour market

they still cannot replace the magic of people

Exchange were all young people aged 18-

• Develop quality improvements in youth work

spending time in a room together. Giving young

30 and members of the youth advisory

• Support the development of knowledge and evidence-based youth policy

people from across Europe the opportunity

committees of three Network Members

• Support the recognition of non-formal and informal learning

to share their experiences and perspectives

- Science Gallery at Ca’ Foscari University

• HAVE FUN

with each other and with us is something we

of Venice, Science Gallery at Erasmus MC

are deeply grateful to the European Union

University of Rotterdam and Science Gallery at

for. Watching the particularly engaged and

Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin.

enthusiastic participants in our programme bond and create new ideas and initiatives was

From citizen science to activism, podcasting to

an uplifting experience and goes a long way

diversity and inclusion, we discussed dozens of

to ensure that we continue to create excellent

issues that are most pressing for young adults

programming and educational opportunities

now. In advance of the start of the exchange,

that meet the needs of young people today.

participants were provided with a toolkit, videos,

making

Primary Goal of Our Programme:

Bring young, engaged participants from across the Science Gallery Network to share ideas, best practices and new frameworks together.

Some of the critical themes we discussed during this youth mobility action are those that have been identified in various forums as most critical to our young participants: climate change, youth empowerment and active citizenship, equality for all citizens, and the importance of 21st century “real life” skills including creativity, critical thinking and emotional resilience.

readings, surveys, and the opportunity to speak We cannot wait to do it again.

with one another and mentors across the SG Network. Facilitators based the content of their

— Katrina Enros,

workshops on the feedback from and interactions

Global Engagement and Insights

with the participants, which included wanting to know more about the curatorial process, understanding how researchers and artists

Learning Outcomes of Our Mobility Programme:

The exchange was organised around the broad themes of civic engagement / responsible citizenship; creativity and culture; and international cooperation, international relations, development, cooperation.

Participants increased their knowledge concerning the work of Science Gallery Network across five distinct areas: active citizenship, engaging global communities, digital platforms, communications and storytelling, access, diversity and inclusion, and environmental action and sustainability.

work together, addressing specific anxieties with regard to environmental challenges, and redefining activism. Participants created their own group charter and rules of engagement.

They very much made this exchange their own.

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The Programme

Storytelling

Lucy Whitaker’s workshop on voice and storytelling discussed the importance of stories, how Science Gallery goes about it, as well as tips and tricks for creating your own.

The creativity, humour, empathy and friendships of the young people in the room really shone. Had the creative writing exercise been undertaken by a less enthusiastic group of people it might have fallen flat, but this group came together to create something special. At times the results were laugh out loud funny, at times they were sad and insightful – and some were just completely bizarre.

The workshop was a credit to

Activism

Andrea Bandelli’s workshop on activism highlighted the importance of developing activities that give young people agency on matters that are important to them. Through this workshop the participants learned about different ways to tackle and address issues such as

the participants who showed off their enormous appetites to learn and collaborate and be creative and create things – with and for each other.

mental health and climate crisis.

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Podcasting

Mediator Training

Diane McSweeney is a documentary-maker and former radio producer took the group on

Danny Browne’s digital engagement workshop focused on connecting young audiences with science, art,

an auditory journey through the world of podcasting and radio. She explored how to find and tell audio stories, how to creatively grab the

and culture. We explored the many ways in which the participants and their peers discover and connect with new ideas online and modeled

listener’s attention, and how to build a world through sound. Participants

some strategies for engaging young adults in the digital world on the

heard lots of moving, funny – and flat out weird – audio, and analysed the techniques used in each to

basis of what we learned. The most important element of this workshop was a frank and open exchange

achieve a better understanding of the potential of audio.

of ideas and a discussion that explored aspirations and for a more

Participants were invited to “speeddate” with artists and researchers, including Thomas Hoogewerf (artist – Netherlands), Sanne Visser (designer – Netherlands), Markus Horvath (researcher – MIT, USA), Shih Hsiung Chou (artist – Taiwan) and Michael Monaghan (researcher – Trinity, Ireland).

Participants had the unique opportunity to learn about art/ science approaches and co-creation approaches between artists and researchers directly from people

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Digital Engagement

deeply engaged in the process.

constituent-centered approach to public engagement online.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Sarah Durcan’s diversity, equity and inclusion workshop, invited participants to understand their own unconscious bias. The group looked at definitions of equity, inclusion and diversity and how they relate to each location, and also the participants’ personal reflections on DEI, ultimately developing some action points for each location to advance DEI. 7

Critical thinking

Gillian Roddie of Tangent, Trinity College Dublin’s ideas workspace hosted participants

Sarah Quinn and Jessica Stanley took participants on a beautiful tour of the Irish seaside, introducing

in the new business school for an incredible session on Critical Thinking, Life Skills and Mentoring. Participants learned

participants to local flora and fauna.

It was then back to Science Gallery Dublin, where participants used their new found knowledge to create

how to work through different kinds of dilemmas, understand

a climate change toolkit.

fallacies, and get the best out of a mentorship relationship, whether as the mentor or mentee.

Teamwork

Climate Change

Katrina Enros’ workshop on improved teamwork included

Co-Creation

Artist Ed Devan hosted a co-creation workshop with participants, making some beautiful and joyful art/science creations on a jubilant last day.

important conversations about what goes right and wrong in team settings, how we can take personal responsibility on a team, and ways we can improve dynamics. The workshop also gave participants the opportunity to meet with the National Gallery of Ireland’s new youth advisory group members, as well as take a tour of the NGI’s beautiful collections.

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Outcomes:

Outcomes:

Three major (Erasmus+) themes addressed by the project:

Three competencies addressed by the project: Critical thinking, curiosity, creativity and emotional resilience.

Civic engagement / responsible citizenship

Knowledge:

and science communication; the value of storytelling

Creativity and culture International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Skills:

— empathy, communication, evaluation, feedback, podcasting, emotional intelligence, speaking,presentations, mentoring, digital competency

Attitudes:

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— better understanding of social and political structures; improved understanding of citizen science

— open-mindedness, transparency, constructiveness, willingness, self-confidence

Project Summary:

Our Erasmus+ project was a beautiful, exhilarating week to exchange ideas, opinions and forge new friendships, but don’t just take it from us!

What questions are you leaving with now?

How can we avoid youth advisers being “tokenistic”? What’s the next step?

How we can have international impact with the panel after this week?

Will our voice have any real impact? Will we be listened to?

And stimulate each other to implement what we’ve learned?

How to set up a forum to connect our global young voices?

I have a lot of questions…

When can we meet again?

What will the outcomes be?

When can I get started?

And then…?

Who am I? Buzz?

What have you learned or what do you want to go out and learn more about now?

Talk about something interesting (subtle?) that you noticed

“Sometimes you have to be

Acceptance.

the one to be the energy”

“Being committed to a cause (and sticking with it)...”

Creative freedom.

Empathy goes deep.

“Never be afraid to fail

“How to make impact

and learn from experiences”

measurable”

How diverse all the opinions are.

Collaboration can take things to unexpected or inspiring places!

Different backgrounds/Experiences. We share a common vision of the world.

Different nationalities/ language didn’t create boundaries, but stimulated creativity and discussion.

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How do you feel right now?

“Much change is needed to reach the future we desire.”

“Sometimes science and scientific research feel too distant to the public and too inaccessible.

Reverse mentorship needed.”

“A lot of people feel unlistened to” and we need to learn how to invite

“Intersectionality point of views need to be empowered.”

them to take a seat at the table.

“Stimulated by everyone’s energy and dedication” “When can I do that again?”

“Happy and sad it’s over”

“People from different places need to “Very topical — the need for talk and listen to each other.”

more co-creation is huge.”

“Tired but cute “ “Like a snack” “Emotional” “Motivated “ “Inspired “ “Hopeful” “Inspired” “Grateful” “Happy” “Happy” 14

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Science Gallery International is grateful for the use of an evaluation tool developed by the Horizon 2020 funded SySTEM 2020 project.

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