URBEX . 2022-2023 . GERMANY, ITALY, FRANCE, SPAIN & PORTUGAL
IN A NUTSHELL
URBEX was an Erasmus+ 2-year project aimed at developing urban exploration as a tool to engage and empower youths at risk of exclusion. It achieved its aims firstly by promoting the active participation and engagement of five local groups of young people and providing them with non-formal learning opportunities of exploration and appreciation of the urban space. Secondly, it developed a creative educational model based on the neighbourhood as a learning space and use it to train youth workers, teachers and professionals from the social and educational sectors. It also created an international network of youth organisations, schools, educational and social institutions interested in using urban exploration as an educational strategy. The network ensured the dissemination and long-term use of the results produced in URBEX as well as a continuous exchange of knowledge between the actors.
FOR WHOM IS THE PROJECT CREATED?
URBEX identifies two main groups:
▶ young people of age 16-24, at risk of social exclusion or affected by the current COVID-19 health crisis;
▶ youth workers, teachers and professionals of social or educational organisations that are interested in developing learning opportunities for young people.
Thanks to the URBEX approach, 20 youth workers from Italy, France, Portugal, Spain and Germany, as well as 50 young people at risk of social exclusion, will be supported to develop and test urban exploration methods and tools for 24 months.
OUTCOMES
Toolkit:
The UrbEX Toolset is based on ItinerAnts, a modular adventure game that encourages you to explore, imagine and propose transformations for the city you live in.
The game is composed of different elements that can be used integrally or separately as a set of different tools that are useful on different approaches and will help you explore your neighbourhood from different perspectives in order to imagine alternative, more sustainable and liveable urban spaces.
The toolset also provides a series of complementary exercises and methodologies designed to be included in the Itinerants game as well as to be played on their own.
Download and print your own ItinerAnts and adapt it to the needs of your project.
Play, mix, share!
Available in 6 languages:
English // French // German // Spanish // Portuguese // Italian
Handbook
UrbEX Handbook of Urban Exploration for youths was created for youth workers, educators and civil servants who work with youths in (disadvantaged) urban contexts. With it, we aim to provide ideas and tools to employ spatial exploration methods with them.
The handbook has three main sections. The first one introduces the neighbourhood as a learning experience and challenges the negative connotations of the “street” as synonymous with the rough experience of struggle for life as the opposite of the favourable experience of scholarization and protected education. In this part, we are setting the context of the exploration model.
The second section presents the sequential steps to do Urban Exploration for youths. There we examine how and why to start a project of urban exploration with youths, how to do the communication of such a project, and how to respond to the five essential aims of urban exploration.
In the last part, we propose creative methods and tools that you can implement in your educational programmes. It indicates the main focus of the exercises but the facilitator is always welcome to adapt them.
Available in 6 languages:
English // French // German // Spanish // Portuguese // Italian
Network
Our final conference invited urban explorers from all over Europe to exchange experiences, ideas, and tools. The inspirational presentations and sessions addressed ways to use this practice for many important goals - education, community building, urban planning, and integration of young people. It also created an opportunity for the speakers and guests to become part of our UrbEX Network following up on the project after its end. The event took place in Refugio - a special place in the heart of Berlin.
We closed the conference with conversations about the future. During our final session, we officially launched our UrbEX Network and invited the participants to think of how they would like to be involved in it. There was a dedicated space for everyone to exchange contacts and interests - during the whole conference there was a mural where the guests were able to leave their contacts and add what kind of experience they had.
Our invitation for organisations to join the Network is still open. If you work in the field of urban exploration and are interested in research, organisation, facilitation, and networking - you are more than welcome to join!
TEAM
TESSERAE
Berlin, Germany
Tesseræ is a platform connecting critical multidisciplinary research, education, art, communication and project development in urban, territorial and social fields. Based in Berlin, Tesseræ works with local communities, independent and non-profit organisations, as well as local, national and European institutions.
Tesseræ is our leading partner and coordinator of the project, managing the partnership between us - five organisations from five different EU countries.
They are also in charge of delivering the URBEX handbook of Urban Exploration and are responsible for testing the handbook’s methodologies in Berlin within local labs. Finally, in September 2023 they will also be organising the project’s final international conference.
BOND OF UNION
Palermo, Italy
Bond of Union is a social cooperative active in the field of education and European cooperation. Their work combines the local dimension, specifically the neighbourhood Capo-Monte di Pietà of Palermo, with an international exchange dimension through the implementation of European projects. They collaborate with local authorities, schools and private social actors t promote the participation of young people and adults through their involvement in educational activities, projects and initiatives.
NOMADWAYS
France
We, at Nomadways, are a team of nomads who design kick-ass workshops for artivists (artists, educators and youth workers) not only in France, but also around Europe. Our mission is to craft art for social change and create opportunities for our artivist community to experiment with artistic, digital and performative tools in order to bring higher quality and better engagement in their work.
At URBEX, we will work on expanding a network of urban explorers and to design a platform where to bring them together online. We will also facilitate an educative moment in France to introduce the urban exploration kit to our local community and youth.
ZEMOS98
Sevilla, Spain
ZEMOS98 works in the intersections of cultural processes — they mediate for social transformation, encourage participation and advocate for critical civic engagement with dominant narratives. They develop mediation processes that activate relationships between activists, artists, academics, foundations and public institutions. Their objective is to value political and cultural processes for social change.
4CHANGE
Lisbon, Portugal
4CHANGE are a network of professionals and catalysts contributing to a community where all stakeholders collectively generate social impact. They share resources, processes, languages and metrics.
They support both investors and entrepreneurs in their impact management - mapping, implementing and evaluating the best initiatives.
This project has been co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme. If you would like to find out more about the programme, please visit European Commission’s webpage here.
