A Summer of Learning and Creation: Over 72 Professionals Completed the Healthy Inclusion through Art Online Course

This past July marked a special moment for the Healthy Inclusion through Art project. Across six European countries, more than 72 youth professionals came together on a shared journey of learning, creativity, and social impact.

From Spain to Greece, from Portugal to Ireland, and further to Italy and the Netherlands, each country gathered at least twelve professionals working with young people to take part in an Online Training Course designed to strengthen their competences. Far from being just another online class, the training opened doors to new ways of understanding social inclusion, mental health, and the transformative power of art.

The course guided participants through pressing issues of today’s society: the challenges young people face, the early signs of emerging mental health concerns, and how art can become a bridge for creativity, confidence, and connection. Along the way, they explored good practices already making a difference in different parts of Europe and discovered how their daily work could be enriched with fresh tools and perspectives.

But the story didn’t end online. Once the modules were completed, each country hosted a face-to-face meeting, bringing participants together to reflect, validate their new competences, and exchange experiences in person. These meetings became lively spaces of dialogue, where professionals not only confirmed what they had learned but also started imagining what they could create together next.

And that is perhaps the most exciting part: the journey is still unfolding. With the training now behind them, the organisations involved are setting their sights on the future. Their next mission is to develop practical tools that youth workers everywhere can use to support inclusion, well-being, and creativity through art.

What began as an online course for 72 professionals has become a movement, one that promises to keep growing and touching the lives of young people across Europe.