L4CA – Leonardo 4 Children Academy: Climate, Equality & Peace

The Leonardo 4 Children Academy (L4CA) is a European STEAM initiative that blends art, science, and civic education to help children and young people explore climate action, equality, and peace. Implemented in five countries, it empowers teachers to use creativity as a catalyst for critical thinking, collaboration, and responsible citizenship. The project now continues through dissemination and training activities across Europe.

Basic information

Research information

Teacher information

Description

The Leonardo 4 Children Academy (L4CA) is an Erasmus+ Key Action 2 project (2024–2025) led by the Carano 4 Children Foundation, implemented with school partners in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, and Lithuania, and supported by cultural and non-formal education partners across Europe.

L4CA developed and piloted a structured STEAM educational model integrating art, science, and civic education to promote key values of climate action, equality, and peace. The initiative engaged over 500 students and 26 teachers directly, and reached more than 1,400 additional participants through concerts, exhibitions, and workshops.

The project outputs include:

• a multilingual educational toolkit for teachers;
• a 35-hour teacher training course tested across partner schools;
• case studies and films documenting implementation;
• concerts/conferences in each of the project countries; and a final conference in Brussels.

L4CA continues to promote its model across new schools and teacher networks, encouraging collaboration between educators, artists, scientists, and cultural organisations.

 

Financed by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed do not commit other than the authors and do not reflect necessarily those of the European Union or of the Agency AEF-Europe (Belgium). Neither the European Union nor the authority in charge of the Erasmus grant can be held responsible.

 

Basic information

Coordinator

Carano 4 Children, https://carano4children.org/

Partners

• Istituto Comprensivo Primo Levi di Impruneta, Italy
• 32 Primary School of Piraeus, Greece
• American Academy LLC Odstepny Zavod, Czech Republic
• Vilniaus Aleksandro Puškino gimnazija, Lithuania
• Lycée Français Jean Monnet, Belgium
• Istituto Universitario di Studi Europei (IUSE), Italy

Programme

Erasmus+ (programme-erasmus-plus)

Project Acronym

Target groups

education authorities, general public, parents, primary school students, secondary school students, teachers

Topic

Aeronautics, Astronomy, Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry, Ecology, Energy, Environmental sciences, Gender in STEM, Geography, Information technology, Physics, Education

Start year

2023

End year

2025

Url

https://www.leonardo4children.com/academy/

Contact person

Alessandro Carano, info@carano4children.org

The final L4CA model and report document the design, methodology, and impact of the project’s interdisciplinary STEAM framework. It provides quantitative and qualitative evidence of learning outcomes, including:

• 99% of pupils improved their understanding of STEAM subjects and global challenges.
• 98% of teachers reported enhanced confidence in integrating art and science for civic learning.- Increased student engagement, teamwork, and sense of European belonging.

The report details the pedagogical model, pilot data, and recommendations for policymakers and educators seeking to strengthen cultural and scientific literacy. The model demonstrates how creative, cross-disciplinary approaches can foster both academic and civic competences.

Materials, including the model, case studies, policy recommendations, and further activity examples, are available for download through the Leonardo 4 Children website and will be accessible via the Scientix repository to support research on interdisciplinary and citizenship education. The final report will hopefully be made public after final evaluation by the funding body.

Papers

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The Leonardo 4 Children Academy produced a pedagogical model and toolkit that guide teachers in developing interdisciplinary art-and-science learning experiences. The materials were co-created and tested with partner schools in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, and Lithuania. They include structured lesson modules, guidance for project-based learning, and examples from the pilot schools.

Classroom activities encouraged pupils to explore climate, equality, and peace through artistic and scientific expression — for instance, by creating illustrated fables, digital artworks, short videos, or musical performances inspired by environmental or social themes. The toolkit also provides examples of how teachers integrated these creative activities into existing curricula and assessment frameworks.

The teacher training component (35-hour course) supported educators in applying this STEAM and citizenship approach and promoted collaboration between schools and cultural organisations. All teaching materials and methodological resources are publicly available through the project website (leonardo4children.com).

Teaching materials

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