Announcing Modern Argonauts, a hero for our times, and a 'proof of concept' to help young people deal with challenges of today

I still recall the sense of excitement at the impending launch of Our Mythical Childhood, a five-year continents-wide quest to chart Classical moments in young people's culture. 

Along with the team assembled by Katarzyna Marciniak, we planned extensively, assembled teams and got going. That was in 2016. 

The quest didn't always quite as we had planned, not that this was a bad thing. In the end we not only accomplished all our tasks - we also managed to carry out more than we had dared to dream. Even when Covid left us isolated in our various localities we found other means to connect.

With the end of the project - after six, not five, years, to deal with the challenges of Covid - we found ourselves ready to get going again. 

And right now I'm feeling a new sense of excitement. Katarzyna is now the holder of a 'Proof of Concept' grant from the European Research Council. This is the about to be launched The Modern Argonauts: A Multicultural Educational Programme Preparing Young People for Contemporary Challenges through an Innovative Use of Classical Mythology. 

The hero: Professor Katarzyna Marciniak

Following from the 'citizen science' aspect of the first quest, The Modern Argonauts will continue to bring young people along with us. 

The project will, to quote Katarzyna, explore "antiquity as a living element of contemporary culture, important for the development of the identity of children and young people". 

This "innovative use" of mythology will be an interactive educational programme for young people. 

My contribution will be a Herculean one which builds on the Choice of Hercules activities that I designed for young people for the autistic 'wing' of Our Mythical Childhood.

I will be getting started soon and plan to share my progress here.

In the meantime, for more on the Modern Argonauts, please read this notice from the University of Warsaw, from where the quotation from Katarzyna is taken, and which in turn links to a video about the new project. Please also see this piece on AcademiaNet.

More news to follow too on the Choice of Hercules activities whose publication will take place very soon now. The companion webpages are live and growing, and this very week the book goes to the printer.