From May 20 to May 26, we are celebrating International Arts Education Week!

As advocates for Arts Education, the WAAE invites you to ‘draw a line’, ‘to play a line’, ‘to make a line’, ‘to sing a line’, ‘to dance a line’ that reflects your aspirations, your aims for arts education in your community. Reflect on your – ‘line in the sand’, ‘your bottom line’, ‘your end of the line’, and determine what needs to be done to maintain and grow arts education. Is a ‘life line’ or/and ‘timeline’ required for arts education as we move forward.

Arts education inspires creativity, expression, and thoughtful critique. Arts education articulates and activates culture and much more. Arts education is an essential part of education, but should it not be present, where do you stand on the place of arts education in your community, your school, your home, your life? What will you do to fight for arts education? How far does arts education have to ‘cross the line’ or slip from your school curriculum, your life before you say STOP. Before you say, ‘here is where I make my stand, this is where I draw the line in the sand’.

International Arts Education Week begins by the action Ring the Bells for Arts Education, created by IDEA. The action takes place on the first day of the WAAE commemorations of the International Arts Education Week, May 20th at noon, by ringing bells or sounding other instruments as a sign of support for arts education. It is a 24-hours world action, as we pass the time zones at noon. We also ask you to record a short video , or make a photo of the action and post it on your social media accounts, with the hashtags: #BellsForArtsEd #ArtsEdWeek #WAAE #IDEA

On 21st and 22nd of May, a WAAE Webinar Conversations Around the UNESCO Framework for Culture and Education will be held. The webinars aim to foster open dialogue or conversation about the UNESCO Framework for Culture and Arts Education (The Framework) that was proclaimed in Abu Dhabi 13-15 February 2024. Each Webinar will be chaired by different members from the WAAE, though the following topics will occur in both webinars. Each webinar will be approx. one hour long and will be recorded.

Webinar dates:

Tuesday 21 May (times: 8pm NZ, 9am London, 2am Mexico, 4pm Hong Kong, 10am Germany, 12 noon Abu Dhabi, 6pm Australia, 1.30pm Delhi)

Wednesday 22 May (times: 6pm Germany, 4am NZ, 2am Australia, 5pm Lisbon, 10am Mexico, 8pm Abu Dhabi, 12am Hong Kong, 12 pm New York)

The webinar is free to attend and you can register through the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWvOGc63uRALbjeEZxieOcqV25N48FunQGZ662Bz29SJHUeA/viewform