Gabrielle Desbiens, Student, Master in regional studies and Cultural worker

1. Cultural Strategies to improve Elderly’s Empowerment and Leadership Gabrielle Desbiens, Student, Master in regional studies and Cultural worker Danielle Maltais, Ph. D. professor, Social work, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi Mr Olivier Voyer (1927-2012) Mr. Narcisse Rathé (1923-2012)

2. Brief history of culture as an inclusive strategy • Culture as «the arts and culture» (museums, modern arts galeries, short films, etc.) • Malraux (1960): Democratize the culture • Is participation to cultural activities a way to increase identity, to developp a social cohesion and to lead seniors to self empowerment and leadership?

3. Cultural strategy: Quebec’s cultural mediation • Quebec’s definition of cultural mediation • An encounter • Inclusive as a participative and/or co-creative process • Possible by partnerships • Appropriation of the arts and culture by the citizens • Respect everyone’s own role (artist, social worker, coordinator, etc.) • Gives tools to understand, to appropriate and to become autonomous into participating in the cultural activities/community • Ultimately leads to community and local developpment

4. How cultural strategies improve leadership and empowerment? • Everyone is born with a potential of creativity • Losing it is the sum of being not stimulate to create • Learning to create takes time • It leads to self confidence and empowerment • 2 examples: • Modern art history workshops for seniors • Saguenay’s seniors’ TV

5. Modern art history workshops for seniors • 12 seniors (2 men, 10 ladies) • 1 art history collegial teacher • 50$ (40€) for the first 20 hours of the autumn 2011 workshop (as guinea pigs) • 2 cultural activities • They asked for more! • 125$ (96€) for the 20 hours of winter 2012 workshop (covers the teacher’s retribution) • Partnership of an autonomous artist center (Espace Virtuel) and the cultural mediation programme of The City of Saguenay (Éveille ma culture)

6. Saguenay’s Seniors’ TV A project by the City of Saguenay, a study by my collegues Danielle Maltais and Véronique Gauthier (UQAC). A picture is worth a thounsand words… So let’s watch! And then, I’ll explain the process of this great project!

7. The goals of the project • Consider and value the individual and collective knowledge of senior citizens. • Reduce social inequalities while promoting the empowerment of participants. • Promote the participation of seniors in cultural activities by allowing them to express themselves and taking part in the active life of the community.

8. The elders • 24 participants • 16 women and 8 men. • Age: from 56 to 98 years old. • 12 frail seniors • 13 widows and widowers or living by theirselves • All retired

9. The TV serie To be made : • 6 shows of 28 minutes each presenting the individual projetc of every senior. Thos 6 shows were to be presented at community canal VOX. • The seniors were backed by various actors including a cultural mediator, a directord, volunteers and a local TV crew.

10. The process • Introductory workshops in the process of accomplishing a TV show • Technical support team • Great volunteers • 3 generations • 3 (very) different groups

11. Results Project impact on the elderly: • of self-esteem, pride, confidence • of anxiety • Rediscovery of their capabilities • Break isolation • their freedom expression • Break down prejudices • Develop interest for new activities «I had qualities that I did not think ... it introduced me to other people ... Well I think the strength of this program is to plan activities for seniors, say they are not inactive …»

12. LEARN / CREATE / PARTICIPATE

13. Cultural mediators volunteering brigade(in progress) • Transforms seniors from cultural spectators to actors • Continue their learning about different culture disciplines • Help them in creating their own activities (Éveille ma culture as a support) • Give them their place, improve their participation • Intergenerationnal (university students, young cultural workers and seniors)

14. References • A.L. Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn (1952). Culture, a critical review of concept and definitions, Vintage Book, Random House, New York, 435. • Carbonneau, Hélène (2012). Bénévolats nouveaux, approches nouvelles, Observatoire québécois du loisir, vol. 9, no 12, pages 1 - 5. • Caune, Jean (2006). La démocratisation culturelle, Une médiation à bout de souffle, Presses de l’Université de Grenoble, Grenoble, 206 pages. • Coudin, Geneviève et Béatrice Beaufils (1997). »Les représentations relatives aux personnes âgées», Vieillissement et âge, no 21, décembre 1997, pages XII - XIV. • Deriaz, Madeline (2011). Des aînés à la découverte du monde des arts visuels explorent leur potentiel créatif, Gérontofile, Vol. 24, no. 3, été 2002 p. 29-34. • De Reymaeker, Baptise (2011). Affilier, rendre, émanciper. Ce que peut faire l’art au social, Dossier 70, no 70, pp. 5-10. • Fontan, Jean-Marc et Eva Quintas (dir.) (2007). Cahiers de l’action culturelle. Regards croisés sur la médiation culturelle, LARC, UQÀM, Volume 6, no. 2, décembre 2007, 40 pages. • Jacob, Louis (2012). «Mesures et démesures. Les leçons de l’évaluation.» La médiation culturelle. Le sens des mots, l’essence des pratiques, Presses de l’Université du Québec, Québec, pages 79 - 101., Automne 1999, no. 75-001-XPF, pages 9 - 20. • Lafortune, Jean-Marie (dir.) (2012). La médiation culturelle. Le sens des mots, l’essence des pratiques, Presses de l’Université du Québec, Québec, 222 pages. • Thibault, André (2012). Sommaire de l’enquête sur les pratiques en loisir des 50 ans et plus, Observatoire québécois du loisir, vol. 9, no 14, pages 1 - 4. • Tylor, Edward. 1920 [1871]. Primitive Culture. New York: J.P. Putnam’s Sons. • Umea Kummun. Cultural activities for seniors. Culture and health: a summary of a descriptive report.

15. Many thanks for your attention! ? ? ? Time for questions and comments!