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information gathered so far from Kids` Own | The Children and Youth Arts Alliance
2010-08-30

information gathered so far from Kids` Own

Information from HSBC, Points of Alignment and NESF Report (Arts Cultural Inclusion Social Cohesion) and more to come from Champions of Change.

Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) is a cross-national research study conducted (by NUI Galway) in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Europe. The study aims to gain new insight into, and increase our understanding of young people`s health and well-being, health behaviours and their social context. In addition, the findings from the HBSC surveys are used to inform and influence children�s policy and practice at national and international levels

Their website - see link above states that :

"The population of young people (up to 19 years) in the Republic of Ireland is 1,140,616. Young people represent 29% of the population, which is higher than the European average. With such a high proportion of young people, investing in their health and well-being is essential."

Thought this might be useful to compare with percentage of arts funding allocated to children.

Points of Alignment: The Report of the Special Committee on the Arts and Education

(in relation to public attitudes) states:

"The Public and The Arts (2006) - the national survey of public attitudes and behaviour vis-a-vis the arts - offers a number of insights [...] When offered eight different options for spending on the arts, the public`s clear first preference was `Arts programmes and facilities dedicated to working for and with children and young people`. 54% of people chose this as either their first or second priority, significantly ahead of any of the seven other options offered. Another question in the survey (of a representative sample of 1,200 people nationwide) elicited the finding that 82% of people agree (37% of them strongly) that `Arts Education in schools is as important as science education`. "

National Economic and Social Forum report: The Arts, Cultural Inclusion and Social Cohesion (2007)

states:

"Children of course are a particularly important grouping in society in relation to the arts by virtue of their demographic size, the developmental significance of childhood experiences and their economic dependence. As such, many would argue that they warrant special attention in terms of policy and provision in relation to cultural inclusion."

(Page 6)

Pages 9-11 of the report also talk about the `intrinsic benefits` of the arts and cultural experience, e.g.

"Experience of the arts is different to that of most other consumer goods and services, especially where one is involved in active consumption of the arts. Consumption of any art form is essentially a communicative experience, a bridge from artist to audience and a bridge linking individual beholders..." page 10.

Page 22 - Barriers [to participation in the arts] specific to young people:

"The 2004 survey of 2,260 young people`s leisure activities in Ireland (National Children`s Office/ Cork Institute of Technology, 2005) identified a number of structural barriers to their participation. These mirror those identified for the population as a whole, and include lack of finance, facilities and transport, as well as time.

"this survey also examined which groups of young people were particularly like to experience these barriers. It found that one in seven young people do not have enough money to take part in the leisure activities that they would like to."

Page 56

" Consultations for this report also indicated that the outreach and education divisions in these [National Cultural] institutions tend to be poorly funded [...] This weakens their work, as building audiences for the arts often requires focused outreach work, with active engagement with relevant communities."

Here`s an article I found in In Touch magazine (for teachers) about the importance of Visual Arts Education. There are quite a few academic refereces which we could follow up on. - Jo