After a widespread open call across Europe to search for Changemakers, 52 young artists and student artists, aged 18-30, have been selected to use art and culture as tools to mobilise citizens across 14 countries to participate in the 2024 European Parliamentary Elections.
The diverse group of Changemakers, with an average age of 26, represent Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden in the Pop the Vote! Project. The Changemakers encompass a wide range of artistic disciplines, from visual designers to a large number of dance and choreography applicants, as well as a mix of musicians and composers, representing both contemporary and classical ends of the spectrum. In addition, a part of the Changemakers have a background in theatre and dramaturgy, film, cinematography, photography and videography.
In February 2024, these Changemakers will all travel to Belgium to participate in the Changemakers’ Playground Camp, a one-week training programme focusing on artivism, campaigning and the use of artistic expression as a political language. The Playground Camp will be facilitated by Artivist Network, a collective of arts activists and facilitators who support organisers and movements to more strategically engage arts, artists, and culture in creating systemic change through the innovation, exchange, and dissemination of new forms of political intervention.
Also during the camp, Changemakers will spend a day in Brussels learning firsthand about the European Union, its institutions and the European Parliamentary elections. In one scheduled meeting, Changemakers will have the opportunity to meet with Philipp Schulmeister, Director for Campaigns at the European Parliament, to understand more how their engagement and campaigning for the elections through Together.EU affects a wider, shared goal around democratic participation and what role their mobilisation can play for the future of the EU.
By the end of the Playground Camp in Belgium, Changemakers will have designed a blueprint to carry out two engagement events in their respective countries. These engagement events, each reaching a minimum total of 100 citizens, will use arts and artivism as a methodology to trigger citizen engagement leading up to the EP elections in June 2024. Together, Pop the Vote! will engage 5200 citizens and bring 104 artistic programs to the public in the name of putting culture on the ballot.
A Pop the Vote! toolkit will be made publicly available on our website in early Spring 2024 so that other artists across Europe can have access to tools and resources to support any of their own Elections-focused projects and campaigns they may be working on. We will also offer the Pop the Vote! platform to share artistic projects that promote participation in the 2024 Parliamentary Elections.
For upcoming updates on the Pop the Vote! project and what the Changemakers have in store, follow Pop the Vote! on social media.
Welcome Pop the Vote Changemakers!
