European Federation of Professional Circus Schools (FEDEC)

FEDEC was established in 1998 in order to build relationships between vocational circus schools that share similar educational objectives. Most of the professional European schools are represented in the network, including Preparatory, Foundation and Higher Education schools.

Thanks to its members and partners, FEDEC is, above all, a tremendous network that allows schools to get to know each other better and to share their pedagogical and artistic outlooks and experiences. The network enables the organisation of bilateral and multilateral exchanges of students, teachers and administrators.

Its objective is to launch, formalise and implement initiatives aiming to promote the development and evolution of creation and pedagogy in the circus arts sector.

To achieve this, it develops contacts with national and European institutions, such as the Ministries of Education, Culture, Trade and Industry, and develops European projects to support pedagogical and artistic training. The Federation also aims to ensure that Health and Safety standards are maintained in all member schools.

Additionally, FEDEC maintains close relationships with circus troupes, companies, venues, national associations and leisure schools.

The Statutes of the Federation commit to the following actions :

• initiating activities to improve the quality of vocational training and teacher training  in the circus arts sector
• encouraging and supporting international exchanges through the creation and implementation of networks in order to strengthen links between schools
• expanding creative cooperation between circus arts professionals and those working in other artistic disciplines
• promoting the work of young artists and creators that come from the member schools.
• collaborating with the professional field and other associations that share the same philosophy in order to encourage the professional intergration of young artists and creators.

The FEDEC gathers and disseminates information on the field of circus arts education, and intercedes, according to the needs of its members with European or national authorities, in order to strengthen and support actions.

As part of its mission, the FEDEC focuses on the conception, implementation and development of mechanisms for cooperation and harmonisation on a European scale. Through its activities, FEDEC increases the influence of creation and training in circus arts. The federation uses a professional code of ethics from the European Charter of professional circus arts training.