EDUCATION
This news update is a continuation from Essential Education’s updates from the January-March 2011 issue of Mandala located on page 26.
What’s been happening?
16 To Live By has had a fun-packed year, both in terms of producing materials and running trainings. Some of the project workshops we’ve run include 16 To Live By dance classes, working with young people out of school, young politicians, training youth workers and trainers as well as developing the Music To Live By project.
On the resources front, we’ve seen the release and launch of 16 To Live By magazine and circular cards at the Youth Parliament this year, where around 60 young people participated in our workshops and more than 150 participated in our Ethics in Public Life project, which asked young people to vote for a politician who embodies courage, aspiration, principles or service.
The 16 To Live By magazine is a great new resource that can be used by individuals or groups. It comes with a short instruction manual which helps to unpack the contents and offers ideas for discussion, exercises and creative activities. We hope the magazine will be used in schools, youth clubs and summer camps, and by young people as individuals.
One of the youth workers that we trained to help young people get out of gangs commented: “I really feel this stuff has a part to play in all the work I do with every young person, as this is the stuff that is really needed.”
Music To Live By
Music To Live By is a project run in partnership with a hip-hop collective called Foreign Beggars (foreignbeggars.com). Together we have piloted nine workshops in youth clubs across the south of England, where we bring rap and the guidelines together in a value-based creative arts process. Workshops include Q&A with the artists, discussion of the guidelines, writing exercises, meditation and performance. The project has proved incredibly successful, with many young people giving positive feedback.
My experience as a Music To Live By trainer has been incredibly rewarding. We have been able to reach out to young people who would normally reject the guidelines on first contact, and develop meaningful and accessible process that can help young people to transform issues and get deeper insight into their own thoughts and actions. We hope to run more Music To Live By workshops next summer in the form of day classes so young people can have a deeper experience of the process.
What’s next?
After such a big year, the 16 To Live By project is taking some time to refocus and re-energize. We aspire to pilot some programs in schools next year and to distribute the magazine and cards worldwide to stimulate groups and projects to emerge so that more people can encounter the power and magic of the 16 Guidelines.
If you are interested in running a course or purchasing 16 To Live By resources, contact Anna Colao at anna@16toliveby.co.uk. And please watch this space www.16toliveby.co.uk
Tags: 16 guidelines for life, essential education, uecw