Circus++-Youth and Social Circus Arts - an innovative and inclusive education for Europe

Youth and social circus is a measure of intervention based on the combination of circus arts, sports and social-pedagogy. It targets the young but also various at-risk groups in order to support the empowerment and emancipation of individuals and assist with participants’ personal and social development by nurturing their self-esteem and trust in others, as well as by helping them to acquire social skills, express their creativity and realize their potential and become active citizens. Various studies indicate that the sociopedagogical and welfare impacts of social circus are undeniable. The surveys also show that there is a growing need of formally educated youth and social circus professionals having not only knowledge in circus arts but also possessing a deep knowledge of pedagogy to work with the young and with people with fewer opportunities in the society.

This project is based on research and cooperation between European universities and circus schools. The following four universities and five youth and social circus schools are involved and build together national teams for developing the main curriculum and national adaptations of it: National University of Ireland Galway and Galway Community Circus (Ireland); Stockholms Konstnärliga Högskola and Cirkus Cirkör (Sweden) ; Tampere University and Sorin Sirkus (Finland), Université Paris-Sud and Le Plus Petit Cirque de Monde, PPCM (France). The Zahrada o.p.s., Cirqueon (Czech Republic) cooperates with all universities. A central partner is the European youth and social circus network Caravan.

The project produces the very first research based European full-degree curriculum of 180 ECTS in EQF level 6 of Youth and Social Circus Pedagogy with five national implementation plans to respond both to the shortage of the professionals and qualitative needs. It is possible for the future students either to carry out the studies in one European country or construct the whole study programme by choosing the suitable modules from the European offer. The programme includes a model for validation of prior formal, non formal and informal learning and a model for a personal study plan that supports both employability and mobility in Europe. The programme is free of charge and available for all those universities and social circus schools who would like expand and deepen their work into youth and social circus or take advantage of it in their social or educational activities