Cultural collaboration, not domination, is the key to inclusive societies

Seks forskere på rekke ute i en grønn park bak store NORD-bokstaver. Foto

International recognition: Nord University´s project members in INTRACOMP is, from left to right: Associate Professor Runa Hestad Jenssen, Project Manager Hanne Silje Hauge, Professor Nicholas Rowe (Project Leader), Associate Professor Tove M. Ness, Professor Wenche Rønning og Financial Adviser Paulina Zvezdova. Photo: Øyfrid Sudenius Knudsen.

Cultural collaboration, not domination, is the key to inclusive societies
A €3million award from Horizon Europe prompts artists and academics from 12 countries to create new futures for arts education.

The European Commission has announced that it will award nearly 3 million Euros to a consortium of 13 universities and arts organizations across Europe and the South Pacific, to collaborate for three years and advance cultural democracy.

The project is entitled “Intercultural and Transcultural Competence Through Collaborative Cultural Expression” (INTRACOMP), and will develop global, regional and national educational frameworks and policy directives for arts and culture.

Coordinated by Nord University, the INTRACOMP project is led by Nicholas Rowe, UNESCO Chair in Dance and Social Inclusion and a professor in Dance Studies at Nord University in Norway and the University of Auckland in Aotearoa New Zealand.

He asks, “What is the role of arts education, in an era of forced mass migration? As climate mobility, political and environmental disasters and economic collapse increase across the globe, how we learn to collaborate and participate through the arts will have a huge impact on social inclusion, diversity and equality in the future.”

Seeks to redefine the role of arts in education

Voksen mann i genser i park. Foto
Project leader: Nicholas Rowe, UNESCO Chair in Dance and Social Inclusion and a professor in Dance Studies at Nord University in Norway and the University of Auckland in Aotearoa New Zealand. Photo: Øyfrid S. Knudsen.

To explore how the world might more effectively collaborate across cultures through dance, music and drama education, the INTRACOMP consortium brings together universities and community-based arts organizations in 12 countires. With a focus on forced migration and social cohesion, the project seeks to redefine the role of arts in education.

Rowe continues, “This project provides a unique opportunity for experts in arts, education, culture, sociology, psychology, public policy and technology to explore how we might create a more supportive global ecosystem for cultural collaboration. We need to establish a more equitable space for cultural interaction that challenges a Eurocentric domination of cultural ideals and allows every person and every culture to find a place to belong.”

In this ambitious quest, Rowe is joined by leading scholars from Nord University. They collaborate with artists and academics in the INTRACOMP team from 12 other universities. Over the next three years, this transdisciplinary, cross-sectoral team will work to transform policies, practices and public pedagogies associated with culture and education.

As Rowe argues, “By participating in the arts, we can re-imagine the world.” 

Rector: – A great acknowledgement

Portrett av smilende kvinne i lilla skinnjakke. Foto
Proud Rector: Hanne Solheim Hansen, Rector at Nord University. Photo: Adrian Svendsen Bensvik.

Hanne Solheim Hansen, Rector at Nord University, is proud of the fact that her university once again is leading a large international reseach project.

“Our innovative research environments are addressing major issues and challenge established methods in co-creation. Creative processes can create new arenas where participants are truly equal, and INTRACOMP can develop new methods for co-creation. We need new tools both to achieve real inclusion and to form new shared visions of a better future. Nord University is taking the lead, together with researchers from around the world, to develop new methods and contribute to social sustainability and a better future for us all.”

Dean: – Important research for both Europe and the world

Portrett av kvinne som smiler - ute med hvit bakgrunn. Foto
Proud dean: Rosemary Martin, dekan ved Faculty of Education and Arts. Photo: Nina Kjeøy.

Rose Martin is dean at the Faculty of Education and Arts. She describes the award both fantastic and - not at least - important for the world.

“It is fantastic that our faculty has received another Horizon Europe award to coordinate a project within the area of arts education. I am so proud of the team – academic and administrative – who have worked so hard on this success. It shows that clear strategy and intense work pays off in external funding successes.”

”I am also thrilled that it is led by Professor Nicholas Rowe, a wonderful colleague from the University of Auckland. This continue to strengthen the relationship between Nord, the University of Auckland, and the other institutions who are partners on this project. There are excellent synergies between INTRACOMP and our other coordinated Horizon Europe project d@rts (awarded in 2023), and this helps grow attention and energy in the thematic area of arts education and inclusion for our faculty.”

”These projects are vital for helping to solve the big problems Europe and the world face right now, and are reminders that the research that we do can have wide reach and real impact.”

Facts about INTRACOMP

  • Title: «Intercultural and Transcultural Competence Through Collaborative Cultural Expression» (INTRACOMP). 
  • Award: 3 million Euros from Horizon Europe
  • Involved Contries: Norway, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Italy, the UK, Serbia, Slovakia, Greece, Hungary, Aotearoa New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
  • Involved Partners: Nord University, the University of Auckland, the University of Verona, the University of Jyväskylä, the University of Hildesheim, the European Network of Cultural Centres, In Place of War, the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies, LATRA, Kulturanova, Divadlo Bez Domova, Pro Progressione and Sutta Scupa.
  • Project members at Nord University: Professor Nicholas Rowe, Wenche Rønning (Education), Associate Professor Tove M. Ness (Director of Sámi and Indigenous Studies), Associate Professor Runa Hestad Jenssen (Music) and Associate Professor Eirik Julius Risberg (Citizenship Education) and Project Manager Hanne-Silje Hauge. 

    Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. (Grant agreement ID: 101177351)