What we learned from Reimagining Education through the Arts: Building Skills, Inclusion and Communities
On June 22, IYMF held a high-level event at the European Parliament.
Hosted by MEP Marcos Ros Sempere (CULT Committee), the event brough together voices from EU Institutions, civil society, and international organisations, to exhcange on the role of the arts in education.
Whether you’d like to revisit the key takeaways or couldn’t attend but are curious about the topics we explored, we are pleased to share our in-depth event recap.
Opening
MEP Marcos Ros Sempere (CULT Committee), as host, opened the event welcoming the speakers and participants. In his speech, he highlighted the importance of arts education, and recalled that educating through art is also about shaping citizenship: it’s about giving people tools to understand the world, express themselves, live together, and also take part in democratic life. He reminded that in times of polarization, disinformation, and intolerance, culture and the arts are more necessary than ever, because they teach creativity, empathy, cooperation, and respect for diversity.
Roundtable
Georg Häusler: currently Director for Culture, Creativity and Sport at the European Commission (DG EAC). He has been Head of Cabinet for commissioner Dacian Cioșoş.
As we speak, arts education is losing space in many curricular activities, and is about to disappear, which is why we must unite forces. There are so many studies, research and science proving how much arts education is important to form the personality of our young Europeans. Art education is very relevant for mental wellbeing and for opening people to society and to democracy. There is a lot of talk about skills for the workforce, and school can reinforce those skills.
Much pressure is being put on the educational sector to improve “STEM” education and leave out the “A” of arts.
Money and investments are an issue, although there have been positive signs: commissioner Micallef has proposed to double the budget for the upcoming seven years for Erasmus+, and negotiations have taken up STEAM in the past few weeks.
Partnerships between schools and the creative and cultural sector is another element to take into account. Although those are sometimes quite separated worlds, the European Comission has the strength to bring those worlds closer together, underlining how important cultural activities can be in the school curriculum.
In 2025, a study has shown that pupils involved in art activities are 20% more likely to participate in social activities.
STEAM is the future and not STEM only: we are not just producing skilful people but also producing a society of open minded and inclusive people.
Lastly, it’s important to remember that 8 million people in Europe are working in the artistic sector which often entails independent work, with no pension. Artistic freedom is in danger in many places. AI is dominating the cultural debate in the world: the positive side is that the creative industries uses it in an innovative way, but there is a skill issue that comes with it. Another issue is that companies train AI on existing creations of artists, thus stealing intellectual property. Therefore, it’s important that the sector is enabled to protect itself.
Luigia di Gisi: Liaison Officer for Sciences at UNESCO Liaison Office in Brussels and Representation to the European Union. She has served as policy officer at the European External Action Service, and Programme Officer at the European Commission, with a particular expertise in European relations.
Di Gisi illustrated UNESCO’s perspective on the subject, underlying that UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is an ally in the promotion of education and culture, as stated in its name. Several actions were taken by the organisation in the past years, such as the World Conference on Culture and Arts Education in February 2024, bringing together 2300 stakeholders – a significant event for constructive discussions and sharing concrete experience, as well as online tools and platforms. The event resulted in the Framework for Culture and Arts Education, for the 194 Member States and Associate Members of UNESCO. The framework being unanimously adopted shows how important this is to members of UNESCO.
In September 2025, UNESCO launched the Implementation Guidance for the Framework for Culture and Arts Education in order to accompany Member States in their journey to translate political commitments into action integrating arts and culture in education.
Although UNESCO is a reference actor globally, in order to progress we must join forces and sit together, facilitating peer to peer exchange.
Brikena Xhomaqui: Director, Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP).
LLLP has been around for twenty years, fostering a cooperative approach to education in Europe. Even when facing budget cuts in the field, LLLP did not wish to work in silos but brought stakeholders together to face those issues.
Learning can happen in different spaces: in the library, the theatre, with the family, within communities, and that learning must be recognised. Another dimension is the deepness of the learning, which LLLP tries to promote on an European level.
Popular education can use art and theatre to include people who are usually excluded from the field, ensuring that all have access to education. Creating flexible learning platforms is also key, selecting what best fits one’s needs, as dropout numbers are increasing. Indeed, one form of education doesn’t fit all. A combination of educational professionals is key to implement those changes. Xhomaqui underlines that indeed they are pushing for STEAM while STEM still predominates. She concluded by stating that not having arts as a basic skill is a miss for Europe.
Leo Kilroy: Education and Skills Attaché to Ireland’s Permanent Representation to the EU and former teacher in arts education.
In Ireland, a new primary school curriculum with 2.5 hours in arts education per week was just launched. Creativity is something Ireland has been trying to embed horizontally: Ireland as a state has existed since 1916. One of the outcomes of the centenary was a programme called Creative Ireland, ensuring that creativity was also implemented in schools, with artists and teachers working together to create a programme.
If we don’t encourage creativity, we don’t encourage skill building and competitiveness.
There are also priorities around values in Ireland: including rule of law, social funds, embracing social policies. Erasmus + is going to be one of the big education priorities for Ireland. We need to take advantage of education programmes and the opportunities for creative learning. Weekly music lessons were implemented in a challenged neighbourhood of Dublin, and now two orchestras are out there, which shows how effective it is.
With reference to Ireland’s presidency, Ireland will ensure that Erasmus+ stays a large programme, with STEAM as part of STEM education. Skills and competences for AI are a topic the Irish Presidency wishes to address, including the ways AI can be used for good. Ensuring that education and training is broad and balanced. Lastly, Kilroy reminded us that talking about building skills for economy is important but not in detriment to a balanced education which includes the arts.
Marianne Poncelet: International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation Executive Vice-President.
Poncelet began by reminding of how Yehudi Mennuhin envisioned education. He believed the human mission is to create and that children should sing and dance every day before even starting learning other things such as math, science, languages, as singing and dancing can help children to be in touch with their creativity, hence create, helping them become better future citizen.
He was also convinced that through singing the children could learn music with no instrument, in the idea of Zoltán Kodály’s views on pedagogy.
The MUS-E programme bringing artists in the school started in 1993 thanks to the support of UNESCO and today is implemented in 13 countries in Europe and beyond. The programme reaches more than 60000 children per year with 800 artists and 4500 teachers over the network (number of the MUS-E report 2024/2025).
Poncelet also presented the upcoming Manifesto on arts-based learning that is currently being prepared to be discussed with the International MUS-E Council.
The quote from Yehudi Menuhin “It is the response and pleasure of the children learning to sing, dance and live together which serve us as a guide” is our statement of belief and our call to action.
With that manifesto, a tool to convince as education is challenged: lack of teachers, lack of wellbeing, urgency in social cohesion. The evidence is in MUS-E classrooms: everyday, art is changing schools and schools are changing life: art is fundamental. This manifesto, soon to be published, will also convene some recommendations for public authorities at EU, national, regional, and local levels.
Alexandra Paatsch: MUS-E Deutschland Managing Director and International MUS-E® Council Chair
Alexandra Paatsch stated that children play a shaping role in skills and values in the democratic society. In her speech, she recalled meeting 3rd graders in a disadvantaged area a couple months before, who were doing some improvisational theatre for a few months: listening, watching, inventing movements and sounds, sharing the stage, failing and trying again… after the warm up, the class built three groups in a very inclusive and spontaneous way, they then had 15 minutes to create a story, assign roles, and rehearse. They were focused and quiet, listening to each other, waiting for their turn to speak, shared ideas and developed them further. Those 9-year-olds did it much better than many of high paid managers she had seen before. One of the groups created a play about the topic of death. They all discussed it later: “We learn to play with each other without hurting one another physically or emotionally.”
A project in Koln about wellbeing through architecture, what their dream city should look like, which includes creativity, math, and engineering. They started seeing their town through a new creative eye. No matter through which art form: everyone can have an impact.
The event continued with a presentation of MUS-E activities through a video projection, and a Q&A session with the public. This moment of exchange with the audience was an occasion to discuss the working situation of artists, the interconnection of all through the arts, and the importance of soft skills.
To conclude the event, Marianne Poncelet introduced the two IYMF Artists Ambassadors, singer and MUS-E® artist Barbara Valentino from Italy and the Belgian guitarist Quentin Dujardin, who took attendees on a journey across the Mediterranean with a repertoire focused on folk songs sang in different languages and dialects, belonging to the tradition and heritage of the area.
Hosting the event, MEP Marcos Ros Sempere (CULT Committee) delivered a powerful closing message on why arts education must be central to Europe’s education agenda:
“Education cannot be reduced to preparing workers for the labour market. Educating also means shaping citizenship — giving children the tools to understand the world, express themselves, live together, and participate in democratic life. That’s why arts education matters: culture and the arts teach creativity, empathy, cooperation and respect for diversity. And these are not secondary skills — they are the foundations of a more democratic, more cohesive, and more human society.”
He concluded by thanking the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation for bringing this debate to the European Parliament — a fitting close to an evening that placed the arts firmly at the centre of Europe’s conversation on education, inclusion and democracy.
Lastly, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to Marcos Ros Sempere and TreeTop for helping make this event possible, as well as to our speakers, musicians, and everyone who attended. Your presence and engagement contributed to the success of the event, and we hope to welcome you again at a future IYMF initiative.
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Photo credits to Doron Chmiel
