What does inclusion really mean?

Financed within the framework of ICLD’s program “Russian-Swedish Intensified Cooperation”, the project Kliuchi 2.0 ended with a festival. The project, which was initiated and coordinated by the Swedish culture organization ShareMusic & Performing Arts, has brought together five municipalities in the Archangelsk region of North-West Russia together with Örnsköldsvik’s municipality in their ambition to highlight the importance of inclusive artistic work.​​

During the project, these questions, among other issues have been addressed:​

• How can we get persons with disabilities to become more visible in society?
• What does inclusion mean? 
• Are we thinking about inclusion in the same way in Sweden and Russia? 
• How do we develop the best methods for working in an inclusive manner?
• How can we get more people to become interested in working with inclusion in their home municipalities?

– The culture is amazing, it allows people to express themselves in ways other than, for example, by writing. You can meet and work together, regardless of your communication skills. This is a strength of culture. In this way, one can illuminate people, highlight each person’s unique potential, by giving them space in this way, says Sophia Alexandersson.

​​​The festival took place in the city at the White Sea Archangelsk and contained a rich program full of several joint workshops in music and art creation, dance and performing arts expressions where both persons with disabilities and professional cultural practitioners from Russia and Sweden met to create together. The result of the creation process was one of the highlights of the festival – a successful concert that completed the entire project.