“The Art of Staying Healthy – Can Culture Improve our Wellbeing?” Online workshop within the 11th EUSBSR Annual Forum

6 October 2020
10:00–12:00 CEST

There is good evidence for the positive effects of arts on health and well‑being, both in prevention and treatment. However, interventions are mostly local or national and short-term. To fully untap the potential of arts‑based interventions, we need to create a better understanding of how art impacts our well-being and how this can be used to promote better health for people of all ages and backgrounds. The workshop will raise awareness for the health benefits of art interventions, facilitate the exchange of best practices from countries outside and within the BSR and brainstorm ideas for future cross-border initiatives. Presentations will cover the possibilities for using culture to improve health throughout a person’s life-course, including children and youth and the impact of art on development.

The focus of the presentations will be on introducing hands-on practical examples that could be replicated in other contexts. They should also aim at identifying ways in which both the cultural and health sector could learn from and further engage with other sectors to unlock the health-promoting potential of arts, both in everyday life and crisis situations.

The workshop is a cooperation between the NDPHS as Coordinator of the EUSBSR PA Health, the NDPC on behalf of PA Culture and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland and is organized alongside the EUSBSR Annual Forum 2020. It is part of the inception phase for a project that is already under development between NDPHS and NDPC. It should provide input and feedback into the future strategic direction of the project and identify ways to engage other PAs/HAs represented in the EUSBSR.