Muziekschool Amsterdam works toward the greater ability of children and young people to both express themselves culturally and to understand each other culturally. We call this 'cultural enrichment’. In the further developing of our educational programs, the strengthening of that cultural ability has become our leading theme.
Cultural enrichment is important for personal development in combination with others; consciously perceiving one’s own identity along with the identities of others, learning to play with those identities and deal creatively with them. Honing this ability becomes an important part of someone’s foundation. It opens new perspectives, makes room for the unknown, and reveals how things can be different. This is important for living together freely and democratically in a pluralistic/inclusive society.
Cultural ability develops (in people and between people) in a continuous process. Four ingredients are needed to keep that process going:
1. cultural self-awareness
2. experiencing differences
3. the appropriation of forms of expression
4. participation in cultural life
More information on Cultural Enrichment can be found here.
We are not alone in Amsterdam in working on the development of innovative cultural education based on Cultural Enrichment. On a national level, MOCCA and Muziekschool Amsterdam are part of a 'living labs project' on Cultural Enrichment. This one-and-a-half-year project is led by the LKCA. Learn more about this here.