Social connection, arts and new media action plan
Building health through arts and new media is the VicHealth action plan for improving health through social connection and participation.
New media: interactive communication platforms, including social networking websites and blogs, that allow people to communicate as producers as well as recipients.
“The greatest social impacts of participation in the arts... arise from their ability to help people think critically about and question their experiences and those of others... with all the excitement, danger, magic, colour, symbolism, feeling, metaphor and creativity that the arts offer. It is in the act of creativity that empowerment lies, and through sharing creativity that understanding and social inclusiveness are promoted.”
Matarasso, F 1997, Use or Ornament? The social impact of participation in the arts, p. 79.
Social connection is an integral part of VicHealth’s strategy for health promotion. Building health through arts and new media outlines VicHealth’s strategies for building mental and physical wellbeing through arts, new media and technology activities. The plan follows the actions set out in VicHealth’s strategic framework, and also aligns with national and state policies for increasing arts participation as a means to strengthen communities.
Arts and new media programs
Building health through arts and new media describes the capacity of arts and new media initiatives to address some of the social influences on health, such as social connection, race-based discrimination, violence against women, and social and economic inequalities.
Through our arts programs we will improve understanding of how to maximise the wider social and health benefits of participation. Our work with arts organisations helps to build their capacity for implementing research and evaluation of the contribution that arts make to our health, social and economic environments.
Technology activities
Contrary to popular views that warn of the negative impacts of participation in information technology and new media, participating in technology provides health benefits.
Source: Building health through the arts and new media
Information and communication technologies allow greater participation through online activities that have the potential to influence health outcomes. Using these technologies allows people to share their stories, which can increase social connection, particularly in groups experiencing geographic or social isolation.
Information and communication technologies also allow individuals to develop skills, which can be applied in a range of environments. This, in turn, can lead to increased civic engagement as people connect over issues of common interest.