Bremen's Arts on Prescription project recognised as 2024 highlight by DVV

21 May 2025

AoP project recognised as a 2024 Highlight Activity by the German Adult Education Association (DVV)

The Interreg BSR project Arts on Prescription in the Baltic Sea Region, piloted in Bremen (and other municipalities in DK, PL, LV and SE), has been recognised as a 2024 Highlight Activity by the German Adult Education Association (DVV) within the Cooperation Network for Health Equity (Kooperationsverbund Gesundheitliche Chancengleichheit). This distinction places the project among many outstanding initiatives working towards greater health equity in Germany.

The Cooperation Network for Health Equity currently brings together 75 national and regional institutions and organisations—and continues to grow. As noted in the foreword to this year’s report on 2024 Highlight Activities (published in April 2025), the need for this network has never been greater. With the ongoing effects of poverty, environmental degradation and unequal health opportunities becoming more visible, its members are committed every day to promoting equity, diversity, and cohesion in health.

This year, 48 member organisations responded to the network’s call to present one of their key activities. Among them, the Arts on Prescription pilot project in Bremen, coordinated by the Bremen Adult Education Centre (Volkshochschule Bremen) in collaboration with the Senator for Health, Women and Consumer Protection, and the Senator for Culture, was proudly featured.

The project, co-financed by the EU in the frame of the Interreg BSR programme and running from 2023 to the end of 2025, involves partners from seven countries and offers individuals with or at risk of developing mental health conditions the opportunity to receive a “prescription” granting access to selected artistic and cultural activities, along with supportive group sessions.

A key success factor? The project team highlights the vital role of cross-sector collaboration: “A central prerequisite for this project is the cooperation between the health and cultural sectors, which offers significant potential for health promotion and advancing health equity.”

The inclusion of Arts on Prescription among the DVV’s highlight activities affirms the importance of innovative, people- and community-centred approaches to public health, and the power of arts and culture to support mental wellbeing.