NYCI is committed to youth arts and is dedicated to advocating for young people’s right to active and meaningful participation in the arts and culture.
What do we want to achieve?
· To promote access to the arts, so that more young people have the opportunity to experience arts in a non formal setting as makers, creators, participants, audience members and critics.
· To ensure that these experiences are high quality.
· To promote best practice for working with young people developed by the youth work sector and how this can influence and contribute to arts in Ireland.
Why?
It is vital to have an energised, growing and sustainable youth arts community which spans all art forms and delivers quality outcomes for young people to ensure the future cultural, social and economic well being of Ireland. A vibrant arts sector, of which engaged, creative, vocal young people are a part, underpins a healthy contemporary society.
How?
For many years we have prioritised youth arts as a key way to engage and communicate with children and young people. We are dedicated to the development and advancement of youth arts in Ireland, which aims to realise the potential of young people through good quality arts practice within youth work organisations and to develop policies and activities at local, regional and national level.
The programme is dedicated to the development and advancement of youth arts in out-of-school contexts in Ireland, particularly in the youth and voluntary sectors.
Progress:
- We are working to ensure that youth arts continues to be mainstream in youth and arts sectors, and to provide a strong lobbying and advocacy voice for the sector which aims to raise profile, influence policy making and increase funding to the sector.
- A national, profile raising celebration of youth arts entitled ‘Youth Arts Matters’ is being planned for 2010 with a working group from the arts and youth sectors.
- Ensure youth arts and the youth sector are represented in relevant initiatives nationally such as on steering committees, working groups and by more informal means.
- Publication of ‘The Value of Participation’ a qualitative study of the impact of youth arts experiences on young people in 2009.
What can I do?
As an organisation: Lobby Government.
As an individual: Support NYCI by engaging in debate with your local TD on the importance of these issues.