BRIDGES: Building Resilient Interconnections, Driving Growth in Circus Education and Society

2026-07-22

FEDEC's BRIDGES proposal aims to strengthen and expand the role of circus arts education within European education and culture. As the only global network dedicated to circus education, representing 84 institutions across 33 countries, FEDEC seeks to strengthen its role as a bridge between innovative arts education and mainstream European education policy. The project focuses on four key objectives: 1. Strengthening internal network capacity through enhanced member engagement and professional development initiatives 2. Expanding digital presence and policy dialogue capabilities to amplify circus education's voice in EU education debates 3. Fostering professional integration pathways that connect education with employment opportunities 4. Advancing inclusion, quality assurance and sustainability frameworks across the sector. Annual thematic focuses on Mental Health & Well-being (2026) and Professional Integration (2027) will coordinate activities around coherent narratives. These objectives will be achieved through various activities including the FLY job shadowing programme, enhanced digital communication strategies, structured policy dialogue with EU institutions, expanded partnerships with renowned festivals like Sziget and Circa, the CIRCLE project on student performances, and implementation of ecological sustainability guidelines. BRIDGES directly supports EU education priorities and demonstrates clear relevance to EU values through its emphasis on inclusion, diversity, sustainability, and democratic participation while contributing to the Union of Skills initiative and Digital Education Action Plan. BRIDGES will demonstrate how innovative arts education approaches contribute meaningfully to European education and training objectives while maintaining authentic connections to live performance and creative expression.

Belgium

2026-02-01