The aim of this proposal is to consider the partnership experienced through an artistic practice on Agro-Ecological Transition (AET) from January 2022 to June 2023) in Southern France. The partners worked at the crossroads of National Support Disposal (NSD) for the French Agricultural Training System and the nationwide Institut Agro (IA)agronomy engineers Higher Education School (Montpellier-Rennes-Dijon). The documentary theatre (based on documents to create a dramatisation) was chosen to experience otherwise the AET teaching sessions and understand the developing skills. On one hand, the sensitive dimension of partnership through artistic activities has already been introduced (Covez, 2022). On the other hand, the capacity of embodying the agroecology concept through artistic practices has also been studied (Covez, 2017). Since 2019, the AET has become the priority of the agricultural education. Each secondary school  therefore created an Educational  AET Plan, to reinforce the trainings. The IA has created a one-year fund to make the three higher education schools meet up to experiment new ways of learning AET. This initiative consisted in creating a mixed teachers/agro-engineers students documentary theatre activity (December 2022) and, for the students to communicate upon it (April 2023). The AET education refers to: links to terrain and action, peers learning, multidisciplinary and hybridisation of learning forms (pragmatic…) and systems theories. All of this in a transition framework of uncertain, controversial and non-stabilized notions (FAO, 2020-Audet, 2015). Then, this theatre practice represents a real opportunity for mixing people in the aim of AET learning experience, creating and communicating. The partnership gathers up research and pedagogical engineers, a microbiology Professor, two teachers, five students, and Théo, artist from the Cortège de tête company.

The question is “Does a documentary theatre practice partnership contribute to an agroecological transition education ?”. Actually, as the partnership action-research goes on, it exposes itself to difficulties. Our aim is then to understand and deal with those difficulties for the greater good ! First, agroecology means training to a constant collective change within the framework of the urgent climate change, which means a lot to the participants in terms of cognitive, social, emotional and educational matters. Consequently, the partnership (Otrel-Cass & Ali, 2022) is now facing risks of Rennes students disengagement (Bordes, 2015) and misunderstanding that need the joint accompaniment on pedagogical and artistic approaches from Montpellier. The fact is that French engineers are well known now, in their wish of quitting “bifurquer” during or after their diploma. Their wish is to get out of higher schools partly dedicated to polluting agriculture and industries instead of addressing social injustice matters and ecology. On the contrary, documentary theatre can be seen as encouraging a renewal of professional, collective and personal AET postures where a shared vision for the future is involved (Hervé, 2022) where society building matters.

This theatre can create a shared understanding, as its practice encourages concept sharing and scene creating from shared ideas and emotions. All of this enhanced by the final work representation. The strength of this educational situation comes from embodiment of change boosted to enaction (Masciotra & ali 2008) in Anthropocene times. Finally, it helps creating an integrating and balancing situation with cognitive and bodily activities. The acceptance of the sensitive process inside us and all together enriches but also provokes some unbalance and change that we have to face to keep on acting, creating and partnering. The risks are real but may encourage a change for AET. As co-sharing while becoming aware of points of view and experience differences (Mérini, 2012), our common engagement is strengthening in the objective of creating a transformative change through partnership (Laing & Ali, 2022).

The methodological approach in ethnography consists in pre and post interviews with the 5 student-engineers and 2 agricultural teachers as well as the artist Théo, actor, dramatist and director, who prepared the project one year long, having one meeting per month with the research engineer. The theatre practice duration was 4 days (December 2022). Within the various documentary theatres ((Magris & Ali, 2019), this one is defined by its designers (Théo & Louise) as a récit fictionnel type. This means that creation is made out of shared emotions, points of view, experiences. The semi-direct interviews have been decided so as to allow the freedom of speech (ex: in relationship with the developed skills). Therefore, participative observations, diaries, and meeting minutes are also taken into account. The research engineer and artist, based near Montpellier, have been working with a pedagogical team in the Bretagne region, associating to create this remote theatre practice partnership. E-mails are also very relevant about inner debates, and decisions making to accompany each other, in the situation of support or risks. The action part will be finished when the 5 students present a communication analysing their experience during the national Days of Arts and Culture in Hihger Education at the beginning of april 2023. Now, the interviews, show that the question was less understanding AET, than transforming it as a matter of theatre, expression and communication before the public. The collected informations show a common practice made of debates, growing problematics, drawings... leading to the definition and creation of scenes about food injustice, social inequality, textile resale shops… or clowns alive ! The aim was not focused on the creation in itself but in the artistic process of living experience together. Even if the 30 minutes long representation was quite meaningful and applauded ! By the way, the students asserted that it started on sunday morning when they drove from Bretagne to the southern mountains qualifying it as a “real adventure”, curious to know the territory. The teachers also declared the same curiosity and wished to share with young engineer students in common activity, and to repeat this pedagogical experience in their high school in a smaller form. Finally, evolving the form of the partnership consists now in very much inter-angencies collaborating in order to sharing the misunderstandings and propose solutions. Our common goal and vision for youth education are fundamental to our wish of transformation.

First, as the theatre practice has been quite successful, the wish is to reproduce it in another higher school and belongs to an European University Project submitted in january 2023. On the middle term, the aim is to create a round-table about the skills development during the national days of arts in April in Rennes, after the January webinary in the IA Montpellier that shows the wish to understand and disseminate the pedagogical and educational approach to AET thanks to partnership. The risks underlined will also be better overcome. As taking into account the students non-engagement risk represents now, an opportunity to better understand their ethical, educational, political but also pragmatic points of view and co-share them within partners. Now, trusting the adults response seems to represent a real issue. So, this encourages us to inner changes in different postures. Reproaching adults not to act for AET lives beneath the surface. Thus, the need to express oneself with the body and emotions has been considered as quite important. The students also criticized strongly the pedagogical and educational transmissions, too much theoretical without territory action. The intergenerational impact has been considered highly positive by everyone. The feeling of eco-anxiety or anger have decreased and the engagement in agro-studies has been reinforced so as to get out of studies and work at the AET. The need of institutional educational and pedagogical change to transform the attempt into acting in real life is strongly asserted. The theatre diversion pedagogy, demanding in terms of fluidity and plasticity, seems to be an embodied way to come back to reality and make values alive. Facing the embodied transition risk together through theatre would enable the core of the engineer profession : change agent. So the adults risks in partnership would be not to appreciate this enacting need.

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