20 years of the NORDPLUS Explorations and Collaborations in the Arts / The ECA Network

What is NORDPLUS? It is a mobility and network programme in the higher education sector. It works both on the bachelor and master levels in the Nordic and Baltic countries. The goal of Nordplus is to create collaboration between the institutions by exchanges, experience etc.

In a new publication, edited by TUAS Arts Academy’s Senior Music Lecturer, David Yoken, we can find history of the last 20 years of innovative interdisciplinary education created by a network of university arts programmes located in a large geographical area: from Greenland in the north to Lithuania in the south.

The introduction to the ECA Network’s Exploration and Collaboration in the Arts’ publication focuses on personal reflection from both teachers and students who have been part of these NORDPLUS activities. For 20 years, the ECA network has been creating and developing truly interdisciplinary activities for their higher education partners.

The Nordplus higher education programme is aimed at higher education institutions in the Nordic and Baltic countries. The minimum requirement for a network and partnership is that they consist of at least three institutions from three different participating countries. The programme supports cooperation between institutions, courses, projects and student and teacher mobility.

In this publication, we can read several articles that summarize the last 20 years of the Nordplus ECA Network. There are pieces about interdisciplinarity, cinema, visual arts and dance.

More than 10.000 people in the Nordic and Baltic region benefit from Nordplus every year. This is what the publication mainly is about – the people who take part in this programme and benefit from it. You can read about the inspiring history of the Nordplus ECA Network, and see for yourself how effective it is. The main thought is– collaboration makes us stronger!

text - Agnieszka Olenska

Photo: Janne Leimola