WALL: Working with Art to Lead and Learn — testing the methodology in Kielce

This August, the city of Kielce, Poland, became the meeting point for the partner organisations behind WALL — Working with Art to Lead and Learn, a new project bringing art-based, non-formal education methods to youth work across Europe.

Representatives from IRARU, Amigos de Europa, Craftopia, 167bStreet and Regional Volunteer Center (coordinator) came together to take part in a hands-on gathering where the partnership put its own methodology to the test before rolling it out more widely. Rather than simply presenting the approach on paper, the partners worked through it as participants themselves — trying out the exercises, tools and facilitation techniques that make up the WALL methodology, and gathering feedback in real time on what works, what needs adjusting, and how it lands with different groups.

From testing to implementation

This testing phase in Kielce is the foundation for what comes next: each partner organisation will now implement the refined methodology through 7 workshop sessions, to be held locally in each partner city. Having every organisation experience the methodology first-hand before adapting it to their own communities ensures that the sessions in Austria, Poland, Italy and Greece

and beyond stay true to the spirit of WALL, while still responding to the specific needs of each local group.

It's a classic train-the-trainer logic applied to art and youth work: test together, refine together, then take it home and make it your own.

What's next

With the methodology now tested and the local workshop cycles about to kick off in each city, the WALL partnership is entering its most active phase. And Vienna has something really fun coming up!!!!!!

Co-funded by the EU!!