Recap Green Tales Project: Forum & Concert
On 9 February, the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation (IYMF), in partnership with the ethical literary social network Panodyssey, held the Green Tales Project Final Event at the Instituto Cervantes of Brussels, celebrating the culmination of this European initiative uniting children, artists, and educators to explore creativity, culture, and green awareness.
The evening opened with a welcome speech by Teresa Iniesta, Director of the Instituto Cervantes, who expressed her pleasure in hosting the event alongside the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation. She highlighted the importance of cultural initiatives like Green Tales in times of uncertainty, describing culture as a vital space where new possibilities can be imagined.
The programme featured a presentation by the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation inspired by Yehudi Menuhin, to place the arts at the heart of European education. She described how Green TALES used storytelling and the four elements to connect children, artists and teachers. Bianca Rubino then showcased the project’s outcomes: artistic workshops across four countries, teachers training in stop-motion, children’s digital stories, and practical tools to ensure the project’s long-term impact.
Green Tales is a creative journey connecting children from schools in Iceland, Germany, Spain, and Turkey. Through storytelling, music, visual arts, and digital media, participants explored the four classical elements—earth, air, water, and fire. Over two years, children collaborated on digital stories, teachers and university students received training in creative methods, and a model for sustainable, art-based learning across borders was developed.
Keynote
Lodovico Folin Calabi (UNESCO, Representative to the European Union) joined the event to stand “among those of you who are not only educating minds but also nurturing hearts—those who believe that learning is not simply an academic process but a transformative force for cultures and communities.” He emphasised that education is a transformative human right, fostering literacy, imagination, empathy, cultural identity, and responsible citizenship. He highlighted the current global challenges climate change, social fragmentation, digital divides, and conflicts while noting the unique opportunity to use arts and culture to connect, raise awareness, and inspire collective action. Praising Green Tales, he underlined how the project turns classrooms into spaces where children “actively engage with environmental and cultural challenges” and where “stories shape how we see ourselves and the world.”
Roundtable
The discussion moderated by Bianca Rubino from IYMF, brought together:
Sophia Queckenberg (DG EAC, European Commission, Belgium) emphasised the critical role of arts and sustainability education in shaping future generations. She highlighted the whole-school approach, where sustainability learning is integrated into both classroom curricula and community life, fostering long-term awareness and action. Sophia also pointed to key European initiatives such as the GreenComp Competence Framework and the upcoming Intergenerational Fairness Strategy, which aim to give young people the tools to imagine alternative futures, develop environmental literacy, and actively participate in shaping a sustainable world. She praised Green Tales as a model project demonstrating how creativity, storytelling, and emotional engagement can amplify learning and strengthen communities.
Myrto Vounatsou (World Human Forum, Greece) shared how Green Tales reconnected children and adults with the openness and energy of childhood, allowing them to approach learning and environmental challenges with curiosity and imagination. She highlighted the global and intergenerational impact of the project, showing how children in Iceland, Germany, Spain, and Turkey collaborated, shared ideas, and learned to appreciate each other’s cultures. Myrto emphasized that technology used creatively, not passively became a bridge for collaboration, helping children turn digital tools into instruments for imagination, storytelling, and meaningful action. She called for scaling such initiatives globally, nurturing the next generation to care for themselves, their communities, and the planet.
Jenny Schmiedel (MUS-E Deutschland, Germany) illustrated how children transition from passive learners to empowered creators. She described how their lived experiences concerns about climate, local environmental issues, or personal stories became the raw material for artistic expression through storytelling, film, music, and visual arts. Jenny emphasized the CAT triangle framework Child, Artist, Teacher showing how collaboration among all three is essential to creating safe, supportive, and challenging environments where children can experiment, voice concerns, and develop agency. She highlighted that children’s voices are amplified not just locally but across partner countries, giving them real-world impact and confidence.
Markus Hermann Meckl (University of Akureyri, Iceland) stressed the importance of embedding art-based environmental education within structural and policy frameworks. He noted that while awareness of ecological issues is high, sustainability-focused art education often depends on motivated individuals or temporary projects rather than systemic support. Art-based approaches through storytelling, visual arts, sound, and digital creation build creativity, critical thinking, and environmental understanding in ways traditional methods cannot. Markus called for embedding such practices into curricula, teacher training, and long-term funding to make them sustainable and an integral part of education.
We had the pleasure of welcoming two of the seven project artists from Germany (MUS-E Deutschland): Marion Martinez , the storytelling artist and Rubén González Escudero, visual and sound artist who shared firsthand testimonies of their project work in Berlin and how guiding children through creative processes storytelling, music, film, and visual arts teaches teamwork, responsibility, and problem-solving while connecting participants across borders.
Alexandre Leforestier highlighted Panodyssey as a European social network offering an ethical alternative to dominant platforms, protecting creators and promoting trust. Drawing on his experience with Qobuz, he emphasized the cultural value of music and lyrics, inviting artists and cultural actors to share and preserve Europe’s artistic heritage in a calm, ad-free digital space. He concluded by calling on Europe’s creative communities to help shape responsible, open digital spaces for future generations.
The event also featured a screening of the Green Tales short film and a three-part string concert from Spain celebrating earth, childhood, and hope.
Missed the event? You can watch the full live stream here!
