Madam Minister, dear Françoise Nyssen,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear Sophie Marinopoulos,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,
I thank you for your presence at this meeting which reaffirms the Ministry of Culture’s full commitment to cultural and artistic awakening.
We pay special attention to the awakening of young and very young children because it is one of the essential drivers of artistic and cultural emancipation.
I remind you that this emancipation benefits all our fellow citizens regardless of their situation or their place of life. That is one of the major commitments I have with my entire department.
There is a lot of talk about the goal set by the President of the 100% EAC (to enable 100% of students in school to benefit each year from an arts and cultural education action), which is part of this framework.
The artistic and cultural awakening of all very young children must also be ensured before their 3 years. This foundational stage is indispensable for the emancipation of all.
Because art and culture are a real need of toddlers. They make an essential contribution to the development of the child. They play an irreplaceable role in opening up to the world, awakening to sensitivity, and thus the development of children.
Artistic and cultural practices must therefore find a place in the daily life of family life from an early age.
We are fortunate today to be able to work from the report submitted by Sophie Marinopoulos. Dear Sophie, thank you for your expertise and your exemplary involvement in this work.
I would also like to thank all those – and there are many – who have contributed and who are here with you.
Naturally, I thank Françoise Nyssen who commissioned this report.
Thanks to you, a new reference text on the subject of the awakening of 0 to 3 years is now available to all.
This report makes specific recommendations that help us to put in place effective solutions to generalize the cultural and artistic awakening of young children in relation to their family environment.
In this area, we are not starting from scratch. One of the main interests of your report is also to have highlighted the wealth of initiatives carried out by cultural actors throughout the territory.
I salute the commitment of those who contribute to bringing the arts and culture of very young children closer together. There are many of you here this afternoon, representing all artistic disciplines.
But so many others remain excluded.
To guarantee access to all, several measures will be put in place by the Ministry of Culture. Within the future direction in charge of emancipation and transmission that will soon be created, artistic awakening and culture will be a priority.
This directorate will oversee and coordinate initiatives implemented throughout the territory.
We will ask all cultural institutions of the Ministry to propose activities adapted to very young children and their families.
Many existing initiatives can serve as examples, including Universcience’s “Baby City Lab” for 0-2 year olds. This playful and warm space welcomes children and their families around adapted activities. They ensure the cognitive development of the child while helping to strengthen parent/child and sibling ties.
The ministry will continue to support the production, creation and dissemination of works to very young audiences.
We are already supporting actors committed to this path: the «Scènes d'enfance» association that brings together all the professionals of live entertainment young audience to share their experience and promote new initiatives; The Musée Fabre de Montpellier, or the FRAC Centre has built specific tours to put their collections at the disposal of toddlers. For example, in Montpellier, “baby visits” allow children to make visits with their maternal assistant.
We will develop the training of cultural professionals and artists: because the youngest also have the right to be in direct contact with the artists who must, thanks to their sensitivity and talent, speak to the youngest.
I will ask our DRAC to identify project leaders (communities or others) with whom we can co-build initiatives for artistic and cultural awakening. They can be places, like the "Mille formes" in Clermont-Ferrand, which I inaugurated with you, dear Sophie. This «art initiation center» was designed by the city in partnership with the Centre Pompidou. A veritable field of experimentation for 0-6 year olds, it must promote the discovery of contemporary art through various activities.
It may also include other partnerships, such as the local contract for the artistic awakening of young children proposed by the DRAC Hauts-de-France in partnership with the Communauté de Communes du Haut-Val-d'oise, which will involve several artistic companies ("Puzzle" collective, "Within Earshot" company).
I welcome the presence among us of Laurent Roturier, Director of Cultural Affairs of Ile-de-France, who testifies to the commitment of all DRAC.
All these actions must find an extension within the framework of the work of the committee of the first 1000 days of the child. Chaired by Boris Cyrulnik, it brings together 16 eminent members, including you, dear Sophie Marinopoulos.
Coming from diverse backgrounds and backgrounds, its members will – I am sure – listen to the recommendations on cultural health and make constructive proposals.
The Secretary of State for Child Protection, Adrien Taquet, who cannot be with us today, told me of his full commitment to ensure that cultural and artistic awakening is integrated into the reflection on the basic needs of the child.
The “culture bath” necessary for the development and development of the child must be better valued and strengthened. This is a shared priority for our two departments.
We are working together to put in place actions that will go in that direction.
By mobilizing all the actors concerned, we can make the generalization of cultural and artistic awakening a reality.