“Art can open spaces where young people feel free to speak, imagine, question and take part in community life. This idea was at the centre of Bitta Manifesto, an Erasmus+ Youth Seminar held in Chieti, Italy, from 18 to 24 November 2024, focused on the use of artistic expression as a tool for youth inclusion and active participation.
The seminar was organised by ARCI Circolo Territoriale Chieti APS and supported by the Erasmus+ Youth Programme, the Agenzia Italiana per la Gioventù and the Municipality of Chieti. It gathered 22 participants, including artists, educators, youth workers and volunteers from Italy, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, France, Portugal, Bulgaria and Germany. The project was developed within the wider experience of the informal Bitta Generation network, active since 2009 in connecting young people, artistic practices and international youth work.
The main objective of the seminar was to share good practices from different local contexts and reflect on how art can support social inclusion, active citizenship and personal development. Participants explored artistic processes not only as creative activities, but as ways to help young people express their needs, build confidence, take part in public life and imagine new possibilities for themselves and their communities.
A central part of the work was the presentation of case studies from the organisations and countries involved. These examples showed how art can be used in many different contexts such as participatory murals in Serbia, street art and urban memory in France, youth festivals and community work in Germany and Bosnia and Herzegovina, public art and human rights education in Belgium, artistic projects linked to disability rights and environmental awareness in Bulgaria, and cinema education for children in Portugal.
Through discussions, working groups and shared reflections, participants compared methods and approaches, focusing on topics such as critical thinking, workshop design, art in youth work, creativity in education and the use of artistic tools outside traditional art contexts. The seminar was not intended to produce a fixed recipe, but to build a common ground for future projects and for anyone interested in using art as a practical tool for inclusion.
The outcome of this process is Bitta Manifesto, a publication that collects best practices, methodologies, reflections, comparisons and free thoughts on art as a tool for the inclusion and active involvement of young people. It is both a memory of the seminar and a practical resource for youth workers, artists, educators, organisations and communities.
Download the publication and explore the ideas, case studies and reflections developed during this shared European process.”
