UK/10/LLP-LdV/PLM/163082

Art and Culture in the European Society 2

For the second consecutive year Language Link succeeded in implementing the ACES project (Art and Culture in the European Society), a Leonardo da Vinci mobility project aimed at young people aged 18 to 35 years old and interested in the arts and culture sectors.

ACES was addressed to all those people in the labour market who wanted to develop their skills and build their career in art and cultural organisations, that is organisations promoting different forms of creativity such as music, dance, film, writing and painting, organisations involved in the promotion of cultural events, and so on.

The project involved 21 participants, who were mainly people with a degree or diploma in the fields of Art and Culture, or people interested in developing a career in the field. Also, in line with the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion, it tried to involve people at risk of social exclusion. 

The programme included a 9-week mobility abroad, made up of 2 weeks of intensive language course in the destination country and 7 weeks of internship in a company or organisation involved in the arts and culture sector. The 21 participants were sent to 3 different destinations, 2 in Italy (Florence and Reggio Calabria) and one in Spain (Seville).

ACES was supported abroad by the Intermediary organisations Epoca (Reggio Calabria), CEDIT (Florence) and INCOMA (Seville). The staff of the 3 organizations abroad were involved in the project, tutoring and mentoring the participants during their stay in the host countries, regularly monitoring and evaluating the project in order to guarantee its correct progression and achieve the best results, and keeping the sending institution informed on the progress of it.

A preparatory course for all participants preceded their departure. This included a 4-week online language course and a cultural preparation that took place at Language Link prior to their departure in order to give them basic cultural information on the host country.

The main aim of the projects was to professionalise and provide specialisations for the participants, foster the acquisition of multidisciplinary and transversal methods, tools and skills that could be applied to management and marketing in art and culture in the UK, and offer the participants the possibility of acquiring new professional skills and specific knowledge aimed at the creation and running of micro-enterprises and to be competitive in the European Market.

The project has been a great benefit for the participants. They have had the chance to experience life in culture in another European country, and learning the language in the place it is spoken, to such a level as to enable them to express themselves confidently in the foreign language, and they also have acquired technical skills in a specific field in the arts and culture sector, increasing their employability both in their own country and abroa

d. Some of them also found a permanent job in the host country. In addition, many participants have had thechance to develop skills not strictly related to their field of studies or previous experience, thus allowing them to further their knowledge and skills.