The Kultur & Art Initiative e.V. (KAI) was established in 2002 and is an intercultural and intergenerational non-profit organization composed of members from different nations, age groups with different professional backgrounds who have got professional experiences in youth, refugees, migration, non-formal education (NFE) and media production for many years.
It develops and implements art-based and cultural projects.
The aim of this organisation is to realize projects with people of different ethnic origins. Its concept is based on the contents of social and intercultural integration.
We want to work against passive cultural consumption by using active cultural work. This is why we offer creative and project-orientated opportunities to our participants in addition to media educational workshops and international youth exchanges. In this context, we organize “Erasmus+” (E+) projects and we work in the fields of youth policy and youth work (YW) development.
We have been organising the “International Short Film Festival Detmold” (ISFF) since 2005. We have been cooperating with the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the culture team of the city of Detmold, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe, the Federal Foreign Office, the University of East Westphalia-Lippe, the Music Academy of Detmold and some other local associations. Our association provides opportunities for extracurricular YW including advice on media education, workshops, performances, support in the execution of projects. The offers are free of charge and suitable for those who are interested in.
Our office is located at the culture factory Hangar 21 in Detmold and in Antalya.
Since our establishment KAI implemented many projects in the framework of the Youth in Action Programme, E+ and many different EU projects like Promotion of the Civil Society Dialogue Between the EU and Turkey, Civil Society Facility EU- Turkey Intercultural Dialogue Culture and Arts (ICD-CA) and Youth Initiatives for Dialogue.
Many different projects, the EU youth exchanges and training courses (TCs) abroad led us gain experiences. Moreover, we developed strong experience, knowledge and skills in the field of youth since we are constantly up to date concerning European Union policies and programs in order to act as multipliers. In this way we developed the capacity to manage, hosting and implement ambitious and comprehensive TCs.
We are strengthening our competencies in fostering local well-being through formal and NFE in order to help local organizations and to create a link with the European level, starting a fertile cooperation both with E+ Programme and Partner Countries. In this way, we are developing also competencies in working with grassroots level organizations to strengthen their skills and to lead an important role in the present and future of the local community in cooperation with others at an European level.
One of the projects, in which we are experienced, is the production of videos. These videos are very effective tools to foster cooperation and exchange among the organizations involved. They can communicate and share their products via an online platform and social network in order to update project progress and to gain new inputs (https://gyop.de/).
KAI facilitators and youth leaders are also involved in the events of the international and national projects where the participants are also adults and experts in education. We want to initiate concrete actions for young people on the way of developing entrepreneurship, promoting mobility and helping them to have direct contact with the labor market.
We work together with many schools and arrange “culture and school” projects. Besides, we are also carrying out creative projects and new media workshops with refugees, asylum seekers and migrants on a national and international level.