Students who participated in the programme “Travel to learn arts and crafts” in 2011-2012 will present the results of this initiative at the International Heritage Show, which will be held at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris from 8 to 11 November 2012.

The aim of this programme is to enable arts and crafts students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds to complete a study tour abroad. It allows young French scholarship students nearing the end of their studies to discover the know-how of craftspeople in developing countries; and it allows students from developing countries to discover the know-how of French craftspeople.

Through placement in arts and crafts institutions, enterprises and associations in other countries, students benefit from the know-how of local craftspeople, acquire new skills to complement their initial training, while also sharing their own experience with others.

This programme helps students launch their professional career by enabling them to: 

• work in a professional environment ;

• acquire new skills;

• gain experiences abroad ;

• benefit from a creative and innovative professional experience  ;

• develop a professional network;

• participate and present their work at international fairs.

In addition to the partnership with the Fondation Culture & Diversité, this programme is implemented with the support of several educational institutions including the Ecole supérieure des arts appliqués Boulle (Paris – France), the Ecole supérieure des arts appliqués Duperré (Paris – France), the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art Olivier de Serres (Paris – France), the Lycée des métiers La Source (Nogent-sur-Marne – France), the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers Multimédia Balla Fasséké Kouyaté (Bamako – Mali), the National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad – India), the Institute of Fine Arts of the Lebanese University (Beirut – Lebanon) and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Santiago – Chilie).

In France, the students studied at the Centre National du Costume de scène et de la Scénographie, at DMC and with the ceramists Valérie Lebrun , Anne Deberly and Laure Sulger, Eugène N’Sondé, and with the support of the European Cultural Network for Development Cooperation.

Abroad, they were hosted by Ardy2M Design Studio Private Limited (India), Comparte (Chile), the Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (India) and the Red de Guardianes de Semillas (Ecuador).

Their work will be presented at the International Heritage Show thanks to a partnership with the Ateliers d’Art de France.