The Erasmus+ Scene Network closes its first project accomplishing objectives in the competence development of its participants

The first European project funded by the Erasmus+ KA203 2016 call, Erasmus + Scene Network, has completed its work schedule, set for two academic years, and closes its activity reaching the objectives that had been marked in the development of skills among teachers, students and refugees.
Erasmus+ Scene Network (E+SCN) was launched in 2016 as a stake and initiative led by the Universitat de València to expand and boost the theatre network of Escena Erasmus that is present almost a decade. Escena Erasmus is using theatre as a vehicle and an enhancer of its innovative attitude and its creativity among students. The project is supplemented by three partners from the European countries: the theatre company CRIT and the universities of Marburg (Germany) and Padua (Italy).
Observatory of Professional Insertion and Labor Advice (OPAL) of the Universitat de València has actively collaborated in the process of results evaluation throughout the two years duration of the project. Through online surveys sent to the participating groups: professors, refugees, local and Erasmus students from Spain, Italy and Germany, it has been possible to analyze the impact of participation in a series of competences related to employability, socio-cultural integration and strengthening of European citizenship.
52% of the project’s different participants responded to the surveys sent at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the activities, with 100% participation of the teaching staff. In general, the three groups have shown an improvement in different evaluated competences. At the level of language skills, both the group of teachers and refugees have seen their ability to communicate in English improved, being especially significant the increase of this capacity among refugees; the ability to teach in this language has also increased in the case of teachers.
The Improvement of teaching skills in terms of pedagogical activity as well as the use of ICT in teamwork highlights among teachers, with an increase of more than one point. Likewise, the three groups participating in the project have improved their knowledge about theatre, with an increase of more than one point in the case of refugees, and their ability to work in international teams.
In addition, teachers have improved their teaching skills (at a pedagogical level promoting teamwork among students and incorporating in-formal educational strategies), the use of ICT for teamwork and their awareness of the situation of refugees in Europe.
The acquisition of a greater capacity to identify job opportunities, as well as a greater awareness of the host culture values and European cultural diversity are competences shared by both the group of refugees and the students who were staying on Erasmus, the latter with an improvement of up to a point.
E+SCN in this 2018 has been awarded by the European Commission with the European Seal of Cultural Heritage, a recognition that is granted to those initiatives that contribute to the accomplishment of the European Year of Cultural Heritage objectives.
The project aims to feature the locations of Escena Erasmus organized in three cities and take advantage of the Erasmus community’s and local students’ creative potential to carry out a work process of the theatre education in multicultural groups. There is a constant reflection of the current Europe by the means of dramaturgies and artistic integration of other cultures diverse to the European ones.
“If Escena Erasmus has been an opportunity to integrate and improve the language skills of students through the performing arts, then with Erasmus+ Scene Network, University of Valencia together with those of Marburg and Padua has taken a step further integrating also other collectives such as refugees and migrants”, explained Cristóbal Suria, general manager of the UV Foundation.
The first European project of the E+SCN network culminated in May 2018 with the celebration of ‘Erasmus Scene European Festival’, an activity hosted by the La Nau Cultural Centre that served as an encounter and meeting point in Valencia out of all the Escena Erasmus locations. In addition to the presence of hundreds of attendees, there were students from more than 25 countries that took part in the activities throughout the week, in which the latest productions of each Escena Erasmus venue were performed. Suria has highly valuated the opportunity that is offered by the scope of scenic creation, “for its ability to unite the existing Escena Erasmus locations in the represented countries and because it has been able to reflect in a practical way on the new European realities that our societies live in”.