Citizens commitments through culture in Europe : prefiguring a european observatory – E.C.C.E

The aim of this participatory research project is to explore and observe the way in which arts and culture (all disciplines and methods combined) are mobilised by various players in their commitments (activism, citizen mobilisation, etc.); and conversely, how the involvement of local residents in participatory cultural projects can fuel forms of commitment at different levels. The participatory research is being carried out in several logically linked phases: the first consists of a state of the art and a critical analysis of the discourse currently being produced by various players on the relationship between culture and community involvement. The second phase consists of a survey of 5 test areas identified by the Banlieues Capitales association. Some of the fields covered by this survey will enable us to understand the forms of public mobilisation that include artistic approaches, while others will enable us to understand the ways in which people involved in cultural projects focused on civic engagement are involved in the city. These surveys make it possible to identify the practices and forms of appropriation of these approaches, their stakes and objectives, the mechanisms and protocols for implementation, the 'ingredients for success' or 'failure' (in the eyes of the players), as well as the trajectories of the participants and the effects on the territories. This second phase of participatory research is closely linked to the third: the prefiguration of an observatory of forms of citizen involvement and participation through culture, with the creation of a collaborative multi-media platform. This "critical", "participatory" and "initiative-activating" observatory will be imagined as a space that makes visible a body of significant experiences that are shared, analysed and discussed, with the double aim of producing critical knowledge and operational know-how. The creation, feeding and monitoring of this observatory on a European scale will be the subject of E.C.C.E2 (project continued). These three phases will be the subject of various types of communication and promotion, from publications to cultural events.