The ax has fallen on the ambitious Blue Spaces project. As a reminder, according to the terms of the official announcement, made in June 2021, it consisted of “providing each region of Quebec with a cultural and heritage center aimed at the promotion and transmission of Quebec cultural heritage” while putting highlighting the “distinctive character and know-how of the regions” and nurturing regional and national pride.
The abandonment of the initial project represents a unique opportunity to reshuffle the cards, without giving up certain legitimate intentions, including that of targeting young people in particular. Voices are already being heard to determine where the planned amounts would benefit from being reinvested. We wish to contribute to this reflection by suggesting to the government to reinvest part of the planned budget in strengthening the partnership between the Ministry of Culture and Communications, that of Education and that of the French Language in order to make our schools real and sustainable blue spaces.
If the future of education is what primarily motivates our Prime Minister’s political commitment, he will be able to leave his mark by mobilizing his team in order to sustainably anchor cultural and scientific activities among school activities. offered to all students in Quebec and ensuring long-term collaboration between educational and cultural environments.
The government already has several important assets up its sleeve to add to the missions already assigned to the educational institution – to educate, socialize and qualify – a fourth essential mission, that of “cultivating”, to make the school a center of culture in all its forms: literary, artistic, historical and scientific.
The professional teaching skills framework places the role of cultural transmitter at the center of the teaching profession, which has led universities to integrate this dimension into initial training programs. At primary and secondary level, the new Culture and Quebec Citizenship course resonates with the aborted Blue Spaces project. The deployment of the new cultural policy has made it possible to increase funding for cultural outings, but some students remain deprived of them for different reasons. The situation is the same with regard to residency projects supported under the Culture at School program, which remain dependent on the goodwill and commitment of teachers.
However, recent research shows that long-term projects led by cultural specialists and integrated into ordinary school activities have a positive influence on the school engagement and perseverance of many students. Provided that attention is paid to certain key parameters, including the quality of collaboration between teachers and external specialists, the promotion of teamwork and the place given to students in artistic decisions, such projects strengthen confidence in students, awaken their curiosity for certain artistic practices and support their perseverance in long-term tasks.
How can we continue to accept that this is not included as a regular activity within our school programs? We have known for a long time, however, that if we rely solely on the initiatives of parents to provide their children with rich, diverse and meaningful cultural experiences, we reinforce situations of inequity.
Let’s move forward, let’s dare! Let us take advantage of the current operation to revise the programs for different subjects at primary and secondary level to make cultural outings, artist and writer residencies in schools as well as interdisciplinary cultural projects essential. Let’s get all students out of schools each year so that they can attend places dedicated to culture in their city, their region, their province. Let’s take heritage objects out of museum windows and circulate them in schools during events and temporary exhibitions open to the community.
Let’s let creators from all fields enter schools to talk about their work and support students in carrying out collective creative projects. Let’s encourage young people to set up their own exhibitions, with the support of professionals, echoing their concerns and their exploration of their territory and its history.
Let us transform an aborted project into a national project serving the intellectual and emotional development of our future generations by making even more room for culture in all its forms at school and in our communities.