Vibrant Minds: art as a language between young people

From 13 to 19 April 2026, Mina and Claudia took part in Vibrant Minds on behalf of Bildung Nijmegen, an international Erasmus+ seminar in Rijeka, Croatia.

For one week, youth workers, volunteers and people from different civil society organisations came together around one central question: how can we use art to give young people more space for expression, encounter and connection?

For us, this is not an abstract question. At Bildung Nijmegen, we see again and again that art can open something that words alone sometimes cannot. A painting, a photograph, a shared object or a simple creative exercise can start a conversation. About who you are. Where you come from. What you carry with you. What you hope for. And sometimes also about the things that are not so easy to say out loud.

During the seminar, participants did not only talk about art and youth work. They worked with it in practice. The programme included workshops, exchange between organisations, cultural visits and practical methods around photography, upcycling, community art and art in public space. Participants also visited local cultural spaces and initiatives in Rijeka, where young people, creativity and community naturally come together.

For Mina and Claudia, it was valuable to bring these experiences back into our own work. Not as a ready-made method to copy, but as inspiration. How can we invite young people to take part in a low-threshold way? How do we create space for different backgrounds, stories and forms of expression? And how do we make sure that art is not only something to look at, but something through which people can really meet?

This connects strongly with what we try to do in Nijmegen. In our projects, we often use art as an entrance into conversation, encounter and personal development. Not everyone feels at home in a formal setting or in a circle discussion. But when people create something together, space often opens naturally. It does not all have to be perfectly explained straight away. There is room to search, try, laugh, look, listen and begin again.

Rijeka offered a beautiful context for this. The city has a strong cultural character, with a rich history and a lively creative scene. Participants worked in places where music, youth work, art and encounter come together. Because of that, the seminar became more than a training. It became an experience in which participants could feel how important the environment is when young people are invited to show something of themselves.

Mina and Claudia returned with new ideas, contacts and energy for the work we do locally. For Bildung Nijmegen, international Erasmus+ projects like this are valuable because they broaden our perspective and help us keep enriching our own activities. What we learn in Europe, we bring back to Nijmegen. And what we develop in Nijmegen, we bring into conversation with others.

Vibrant Minds showed once again that art is not only about talent or final results. Art can also be a way to come closer to yourself and to others. A language through which young people can explore, share and grow. And that is exactly the kind of space we want to keep creating.

Vibrant Minds - 2025-1-HR01-KA151-YOU-000300117