ARTS AND LEARNING: A CALL TO ACTION OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED
Ottawa, January 25, 2005 — After two years of discussions, the CCA, along with the CanadaCouncil for the Arts and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO jointly launched a programtitled Arts and Learning: A Call to Action in November 2004.
The goal of this initiative is to enlist the arts and creativity as learning strategies in Canada’sschools and communities, as well as to ensure a permanent understanding of the importanceof this principle in public policy. To accomplish this, the project will undertake a campaign toraise awareness amongst stakeholders of the advantages of arts as a teaching tool in theclassroom, and the role of the arts in lifelong learning. The project will also include research onthe arts and learning in Canada, and will establish partnerships with those active in this areain at various levels of government, the arts and the community.
In doing this, Canada will put itself in step with countries such as the United States, Australiaand the United Kingdom, which have studied the benefits of learning the arts and learningthrough the arts.
This project of the CCA, the Canada Council and the Canadian Commission on UNESCO willalso contribute to an international movement, culminating with UNESCO’s World Conferenceon Arts Education to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, in March 2006.
For more information, please contact Denis Bertrand, project coordinator for Arts andLearning: A Call to Action, at 1–800-263‑5588, extension 4437, or (613) 566‑4437. He can also bereached via email at denis_bertrand2004@yahoo.ca