Crafting Pedagogies of Togetherness





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The residency took place in Paris over eight days between January (18-20) - "Crafting Pedagogies of Togetherness" - and April 2025 (3-6) - "Prototyping Pedagogies of Togetherness". The programme ran from January to June and combined face-to-face and online sessions. Participants engaged in group experiences exploring the applications of the social arts in education. By the end of the programme they were equipped with practical tools to use in their work with education, community, organisations and youth.

We carefully selected a group of participants from different backgrounds within our network. The selection was based on the diversity of perspectives and the potential for organisations, educators, artists and activists to grow through this programme.

Applications closed, Obrigada! Grazie! Merci! Thank you! Gracias! Danke! Kiitos! Takk! Köszönöm! Aitäh! to everyone who applied for the residency in Paris!
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Context Today we face a number of unprecedented global challenges. In order to respond to these, young adults, youth and children need access to learning opportunities that can support them to engage creatively and behave courageously with others. The Crafting Pedagogies of Togetherness Residency’s main idea is that awareness-based collective creativity starts with the art of being together (Gonçalves & Hayashi, 2023). That is, the quality of our presence, relationships and togetherness is the basis for learning and being creative as a social body. If feeling safe and belonging starts with being present with one another, how might we then cultivate and nurture safe, warm and inclusive spaces of togetherness for everyone?
The program
The Crafting Pedagogies of Togetherness Residency is a welcoming, playful and open co-creative space for testing awareness-based embodied practices, i.e. social arts-based methods that support attentiveness to the body and its experiences as a way of knowing, and embrace learning as a holistic and felt act. The Studio-based Residency investigates an emergent curriculum on togetherness which could be applied in the contexts of formal or informal education, in schools, universities or communities. The curriculum combines Awareness-based Design and Social Presencing Theater—and includes three pedagogical pillars: (I) Being Together, (II) the Aesthetics of Togetherness and (III) Relational Creativity.

Objective: To explore and develop methods for integrating social arts into educational and community contexts, promoting social cohesion and environmental awareness.

Methodology: Through workshops, discussions, visits to cultural spaces, and collaborative activities, participants will work on projects that combine artistic practices with pedagogical goals. The methodology combines Awareness-based Design, Embodied Awareness, Social Arts, Transformative Learning and Phenomenology.

Participants in Crafting Pedagogies of Togetherness are invited to engage as co-creators in a process that emphasises conscious collective creativity and relational exploration. Building on methodologies such as studio-based practices for future-making, participants are expected to contribute with openness, curiosity and a willingness to engage in embodied, experimental and reflective practices. The January gathering will serve as a foundational phase in which participants will collaboratively explore and prototype practices designed to foster togetherness, in preparation for their refinement in April, and future application after the end of the project. Throughout the residency, participants will explore themes such as attuning to relational dynamics, engaging in non-verbal and somatic sense-making, and co-creating creative responses to shared challenges. Situated within an ongoing exploration of collective and relational creativity, the programme asks participants to commit to designing actionable practices and prototypes that resonate in specific contexts, guided by principles of resonance, presence and inclusive co-creation.



Participant Profiles

Educators: Teachers and principals who inspired and supported inclusive learning through social arts.
Organizations: Institutions that promoted social and environmental awareness via social arts.
Artists: Creatives who addressed complex issues while nurturing the body, mind, and heart.
Change-Makers: Leaders who drove transformative social and environmental change.
Learners and Youth: Young people passionate about growth and creative solutions for global challenges.
Scientists: Professionals who collaborated through creative convergence across disciplines.

Participants embraced a collective approach to social art, collaborating to develop and implement creative solutions for global challenges and social cohesion.    





 


F.A.Q.

How and where can the results be applied afterwards?The outcomes of the Crafting Pedagogies of Togetherness residencies are inherently tied to the contexts and practices of the participants. Rather than providing pre-defined projects or settings for application, we aim for participants to converge, integrate and implement their prototyped ideas within their unique environments - be they educational, social, artistic, professional projects and/or training, or community engagement. Participants are encouraged to draw on their experiences and challenges to identify where these approaches can have the greatest impact. To support this, we can provide the infrastructure, mentoring and resources to help them develop, contextualise and refine their projects to ensure they are viable and appropriate to their specific aims and environment. The initiative is based on the principle that meaningful applications will emerge organically from participants' lived realities and professional landscapes.

 Why does it matter?The residency cultivates a set of practices and mindsets that extend beyond technical skills, engaging with the relational, emotional, and creative dimensions of professional work—dimensions that are both transversal and foundational across fields. These aspects are often overlooked in traditional professional training, yet they are critical to fostering deeper connections, meaningful collaboration, and innovative problem-solving. By integrating these elements, participants are empowered to deliver experiences that not only achieve goals efficiently but also transform the individuals and groups they work with, nurturing their capacity to thrive in profound and lasting ways. This matters because it shifts the focus from transactional interactions to transformative engagements, creating ripple effects of growth, trust, and creativity in diverse professional contexts.

What is the link to the external professional and educational world?The outcomes of the residency align with emerging priorities in education, professional development and community engagement, such as promoting inclusion, fostering creative collaboration and addressing systemic challenges through innovative approaches. Participants leave with skills and tools that enhance their ability to make meaningful contributions in their fields, whether by improving team dynamics, fostering deeper engagement in the classroom, or designing community programmes that promote social and environmental change.



What are the practical benefits for participants?
Participation in the residency offers several tangible and intangible benefits:

  • Deepened professional practice: Participants will develop advanced skills in presence, embodied awareness and relational creativity, equipping them to foster collaborative and inclusive environments in their professional contexts.

  • Practical strategies and tools: The programme provides practical strategies for integrating the social arts into education, training or community programmes. These strategies are adaptable to different contexts and promote cohesion, creativity and environmental awareness.

  • Transformational Frameworks: By engaging with the aesthetics of togetherness and collective creativity, participants will gain frameworks for approaching group dynamics, shared spaces and collaboration in innovative and impactful ways.         

  • Portfolio Development: Through collaborative group projects, participants will co-create a portfolio that demonstrates how artistic and pedagogical practices can intersect to create meaningful social or educational change. This portfolio can serve as a resource for future application in professional or community-based projects.

  • Networking: The residency facilitates connections with a global network of educators, artists and leaders, fostering opportunities for future collaboration and ongoing support.

  • Cultivating Reflective Practice: Participants will refine their ability to foster a culture of inquiry, prioritising reflective thinking and dialogue over prescriptive solutions - skills that are invaluable in dynamic professional environments.




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Organizing partners Hosting partnersFunding partners







Erasmus+ Project nr. 
2021-1-IT02-KA122-ADU-000017979 
is co-funded with the support of the European Commission.
The information and views set out in this website are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion 
of the European Commission. Neither the European Union institutions nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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the project







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Empowering Educators: Improving Lifelong Learning in Europe through Transformative Pedagogies

This Erasmus+ co-funded initiative pioneers an innovative pedagogical framework based on Awareness-Based Design (ABD) and embodied learning methodologies. By placing embodiment and relational practices at the heart of education, the project addresses complex socio-educational challenges while promoting critical self-reflection, emotional intelligence and inclusive teaching strategies.

Integrating key principles of Transformative Learning (TL) - such as inner transformation, delayed meaning-making and co-creative literacies - this initiative reimagines adult education as a dynamic interplay of material, emotional and systemic awareness.

Background & Rationale
Developed in response to a growing demand from educators for transformative approaches, this project builds on previous projects and over five years of applied research in TL by Ricardo Dutra Goncalvez and Arawana Hayashi. Its transnational extension is made possible through collaboration with the host organisation, Association Méditation dans l'Enseignement (AMLE, France). By drawing on AMLE's expertise and Erasmus+ co-funding, the initiative promotes transnational pedagogical exchange.

Methodology
The project synthesises Social Presenting Theatre (SPT) techniques - such as embodied 'stuck' exercises and relational mapping - with design-led tools and collaborative co-creation, drawing on the research of Ricardo Dutra Goncalves. These methods make intangible phenomena (e.g. implicit bias, power asymmetries) tangible, enabling trainers to critically engage with systemic barriers in adult learning environments.

Through job shadowing, training placements and co-designed courses with AMLE, participants will learn an innovative framework and prototype interventions deconstructing entrenched narratives through embodied participatory inquiry.

Objectives
  • To enhance the capacity of trainers to implement Transformative Learning (TL).
Through experiential workshops on Pedagogies of Togetherness and ABD, trainers will develop the skills needed to facilitate learner-centred, context-sensitive programmes.

  • Refining and validating the Transformative Learning Framework.
By integrating best practices from across Europe, the project will integrate a TL model that will be iteratively refined through participant feedback and academic collaboration.

  • Promoting intersectional participation in Erasmus+ adult learning.
The project will embed intersectionality in programme design, stakeholder training and policy discussions to ensure equitable access and representation.

Expected results
  • 75% of trainers engaged in TL methodologies.
  • Validated TL toolkits disseminated across the EU.
  • 30% increase in participation of marginalised communities in adult learning.
  • Collaborative research with academic institutions, producing peer-reviewed case studies and open access pedagogical resources.

The project equips educators to cultivate learning ecosystems that foster systemic belonging and collective agency, prioritising awareness-raising over static knowledge transfer - a core tenet of its foundational research. This directly supports the European Education Area's goals of inclusivity and innovation in adult learning.







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Partnership overview
This initiative is a tripartite collaboration between Studio Atelierista (ParamitaLab Italy), Association Méditation dans l'Enseignement (AMLE, France) and Erasmus+ as co-funder. AMLE, serving as the host organisation, brings expertise in mindfulness-based methodologies and social-emotional learning, co-designing workshops, methodological resources and network access to advance intersectional and inclusive TL practice. Erasmus+ provides co-funding for mobility activities, enabling educators and adult learners affiliated with Studio Atelierista to engage in job shadowing, training assignments, and structured courses within the institutional context of AMLE in France.

This synergistic partnership aligns Studio Atelierista's creative residency program mission to promote social transformation through critical pedagogy,  embodied pedagogical paradigms, and social art; AMLE's expertise in mindfulness-based methodologies and social-emotional learning, and Erasmus+'s institutional mandate to support transnational pedagogical innovation. Together, the collaboration creates a robust platform for sharing evidence-based strategies in transformative learning (TL), while operationalising shared commitments to equity, participatory design, and systemic change in European adult education. The structure of the partnership emphasises the integration of mindfulness practices with critical consciousness-raising pedagogies, thereby bridging the theoretical and applied dimensions of TL to respond to contemporary socio-educational challenges. Through Erasmus+ structural support, the project also ensures scalability and accessibility, prioritising underrepresented demographics in its blended mobility activities and advocacy initiatives. On the other hand, new projects will be submitted as a follow-up to this initiative in the second round of Erasmus+ in October this year.





*Erasmus+ Project nr. 2021-1-IT02-KA122-ADU-000017979 is co-funded with the support of the European Commission.
The information and views set out in this website are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Commission. Neither the European Union institutions nor any person acting on their behalf
may be held responsible  for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.







Paris team
Candice E. Marro -Paris host
is a qualified psychotherapist, craniosacral therapist, certified mindfulness teacher, and author. She has impacted contemplative education for children and teenagers aged 5-18 by co-developing the P.E.A.C.E.® program, a 10-week mindfulness intervention to enhance prosocial skills. Additionally, she promotes regenerative education in higher education, integrating mindfulness and eco-therapy. Marro is the founder of “Méditation Laïque pour l'Éducation” and directs Mindful Education France and Quebec.
https://meditation-enseignement.com/

Arawana Hayashi
Arawana’s work as a choreographer, performer, and educator is deeply sourced in awareness-based collaborative creative process. She is a co-founder and senior faculty of the Presencing Institute where she heads the creation of Social Presencing Theater. She brings her background in performance artmaking and meditation to this embodied presence practice that cultivates healthy and compassionate relationships in organizations, schools, and communities.
Since 1980 Arawana has taught meditation and creative process. She is the author of Social Presencing Theater: The Art of Making a True Move published by PI Press.
https://arawanahayashi.com/ - https://www.u-school.org/spt

Ricardo Dutra 
is a social designer, researcher and educator working and collaborating in diverse global contexts. He holds a MFA in Transdisciplinary Design from Parsons School of Design, New York, and a PhD in Design for Transformative Education from Monash University, Melbourne. Ricardo is currently a Lecturer at the Department of Art & Media, Aalto University, Finland.
https://www.ricardo-dutra.com

Agathe Peltereau-Villeneuve 
facilitates collective change work through social and embodied arts in the corporate, community and educational sectors. She is a Social Presencing teacher and practitioner, and a Visual Presencing practitioner. Trained in Theory U, she offers creative sensing experiences and journeys that open spaces of resonance, nurture deep dialogues and create conditions for change in groups and systems.

Anne-Sophie Dubanton
enables positive change through connecting networks and holding transformative spaces and programs. She builds on her experience of being an entrepreneur, a mindfulness teacher and Theory U facilitator and trainer.

Marina Seghetti
works at the intersection of capacity building, social art, and outreach. She designs creative spaces that foster collaboration and positive change. As a consultant, trainer, and coach, she guides individuals and organizations in realizing their transformative potential.
https://paramitalab.org/



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activities







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Preparatory Calls: Laying the Groundwork for Collective Transformation
The Preparatory Phase is where shared vision and relational trust begin. These virtual sessions establish a common language and framework for the project and ensure that participants across Europe are aligned around the principles of Awareness-Based Design (ABD) and transformative pedagogy. Through guided dialogues, collaborative mapping and embodied exercises, educators explore their role as co-creators of inclusive learning ecosystems.

Structure & Methodology

Relational onboarding: Using interactive tools such as Social Presencing Theatre (SPT), participants reflect on their motivations and challenges, uncovering unconscious biases and systemic barriers in their contexts.

Co-Design Basics: Introduction to ABD methodologies, enabling educators to 'prototype' ideas for the blended mobility phase.

Community Building: Small-group exchanges foster connections across borders, ensuring that a diversity of perspectives informs the direction of the project.

Expected outcomes

A shared understanding of transformative learning as an individual and collective journey.

Preliminary prototypes that address site-specific challenges (e.g. gaps in inclusive curricula).

A committed network of educators ready to engage deeply in blended mobility.Mobilities -blended activities
The blended mobilities phase merges hands-on training, job shadowing, and collaborative courses to translate theory into practice. Hosted in partner AMLE organisation, these activities immerse educators in real-world applications of ABD and relational pedagogies.

1. Job shadowing: Participants immerse themselves in host organisations to observe and analyse
Case studies & best practices: Community outreach initiatives, flexible programme design (e.g. adapting vocational training for displaced communities).
Network building: Strategies for building partnerships with NGOs, policy makers and marginalised groups.
Scalability and adaptability: Technology integration (e.g. AI tools for personalised learning) and adaptive design for changing demographics.
Resilience strategies: Crisis management frameworks (e.g. sustaining programmes during economic downturns).

2. Training assignments 
With a focus on intersectionality, this module covers
How ethnicity, gender, disability and socio-economic status affect access to education.
Co-creating curricula that address power dynamics and focus on social justice.
Techniques to reduce prejudice and promote empathy 

3. Transformative Learning Modules 
Module 1: Foundations of Transformative Learning
Focus: Principles of critical reflection, holistic growth and learner agency.
Module 2: Designing Transformative Experiences
Focus: Integrating ABD (Awareness-Based Design) to make emotional and systemic barriers visible.
Module 3: Facilitating Transformative Learning
Focus: Mindfulness techniques for conflict mediation and safe space facilitation.
Module 4: Sharing & Networking
Focus: Peer-led workshops to share challenges and co-design scalable solutions.
Dissemination & follow-up
Dissemination and follow-up activities are essential to ensure the long-term impact of the project and to prevent it from becoming an isolated initiative. The 'Empowering Educators: Improving Lifelong Learning in Europe through Transformative Pedagogies' extends its influence beyond the project itself, reaching schools, organisations, communities and research contexts. By promoting the 'language of togetherness' as a transformative pedagogy, the project inspires new ways of learning, working together and fostering social cohesion. Participants will design prototypes and interventions formats tailored to their specific audiences, ensuring adaptability and relevance in different educational and social settings.
Dissemination strategy
The dissemination plan focuses on two key audiences:

  • Stakeholders & Practitioners - These include educators, institutions and professionals who can integrate the project's methodology into their own practice or develop future initiatives based on its principles.
  • Wider communities - The project's impact extends to students, teachers, communities and organisations connected to the participants, ensuring that the impact of its findings is felt beyond the direct beneficiaries.

This inclusive and participatory approach ensures that the project's innovations are not confined to a single network, but contribute to wider systemic change in education and beyond throgh site specific labs created as a result of the participants activities.
Sustainability & future development
Beyond immediate dissemination, the project opens avenues for scalability and sustainability by encouraging partner institutions and indirectly involved organisations to explore new funding opportunities and replicate the model in future initiatives.

By translating the concept of 'togetherness' into actionable strategies, the project serves as a catalyst for bridging divides, promoting inclusive pedagogical practices and amplifying their impact across Europe.


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