The Committee on Culture and Education adopted the own-initiative report drawn up by Maria BADIA i CUTCHET (PES, ES) on artistic studies in the European Union.
MEPs consider that the European Union, true to its motto ‘Unity in Diversity’, should acknowledge its common history, and can do so through the history of European art because of its intrinsic universal nature. They note that schools should once again become the main place for democratising access to culture.
According to MEPs, artistic education should be a compulsory element in syllabuses at all school levels, in order to promote democratisation of access to culture. School curricula and vocational training should promote and develop creativity at all ages as part of the process of lifelong learning. The report also draws attention to the role of European culture and its diversity as a factor in integration, and the importance of artistic and cultural education at European level, including the safeguarding of traditional cultural values in different regions.
The report suggests improving the mobility of professionals in the artistic sector through increased attention to the issue of recognition of qualifications. The Commission is called upon to work together with the Member States in establishing a mobility framework for Europeans engaged in artistic and creative activity, with particular emphasis on mobility for young artists and students of art subjects.
Whilst recognising that this is a matter for the Member States, MEPs consider that policies on artistic education ought to be coordinated at European Union level, particularly in relation to: (i) describing the nature, content and duration of artistic studies, for their different ‘publics’; (ii) the link between artistic education, creativity and innovation; (iii) the application and development of the methods and strategies of artistic education in line with the requirements of the information society.
The Council, the Commission and the Member States are called upon to:
The report also stresses the importance of using the resources provided by new information and communication technologies and the Internet as channels for modern teaching geared to contemporary practice. Stressing, in this respect, the essential contribution of enterprises such as Europeana, the European digital library, MEPs recommend that a European portal for artistic and cultural education be developed jointly and that artistic education be included in the Member States' educational curricula.
The Commission is called upon to promote studies needed to produce reliable information on the impact of artistic teaching on the level of education and competences of students in the European Union.