“Education is not just learning of facts, but the training of mind to think and explore your own way of gaining knowledge”
In the engaging rhythm of academic calendars, the half-term break comes as a precious opportunity to recharge, reflect and reconnect. The concept of fixed routines is necessary to provide a sense of security for young people but at the same time, having time off from the monotonous cycle of school routines gives them time to pause, relax and explore their thoughts in terms of overall wellbeing, sinking in the classroom learnings, developing new habits and enrolling their interests in variety of hobbies and fun activities.
Youth PWR believes that motivation is the key to one’s futuristic confident self and our vision to provide endless possibilities comes with interactive learning and empowering workshops for assisting young people in creating a path of their own.
Setting achievable goals
The most important goal set by Youth PWR for the half time programme initiative was time management as by effectively managing this skill, children can allocate sufficient hours to participate in their choice of hobbies and activities, nurturing their passions and talents while also excelling in their studies. So, the week started off with an active discussion about our plans and activities aligning well with young people’s expectation. Keeping in mind our goal for promoting healthy lifestyle, initial workshops involved blending delicious fruits and vegetables into nutritious smoothies, participants discovered creative ways to incorporate essential vitamins and minerals into their diets.
Building aspirations for a brighter future
Nest few activities were about exploring innovative aspirations and discussing possible careers in the digital media space. The young people were provided with all kinds of paints and colours to draw down their dream sketch and they not only had interesting ideas behind their designs but also discovered the business side to it and discussed about their goals as entrepreneurs. They were supported in putting up a realistic approach for their creative instincts and it turned out to be a huge success and as a token of encouragement to acknowledge their efforts and appreciate their competitive spirit, we also distributed vouchers to the winners. Thereafter, we also hosted a fun learning workshop based on Podcast Education that was facilitated and equipped by StartUp Croydon’s Creative Digital Lab. The young people got involved in activities like voice recording and an informal chat show, with them presenting in front of cameras. The objective behind this workshop was to sharpen their public speaking skills and help them boost their confidence.
Exploring the intersections of social factors and crime
Our next goal was based on conducting insightful discussion based on acknowledging impacts of crime and youth violence. Youth PWR believes that young people can create a positive change in the rate of youth crime if only their demonstrative knowledge of crime in the areas that they live in, as well as the areas in which they go to school in is clear and strong. A rational discussion is useful only when there is a significant base of shared assumptions youth so when the young people were able to identify affect of active crime & violence for the perpetrators, victims and the community that made them became very reflective of their own individual experiences.
Integrating learning into everyday fun
Youth PWR understands that maintaining a healthy balance between learning and leisure is very necessary for keeping the young people motivated and pumped up for the upcoming activities and workshops. We hosted outdoor games sessions where everyone actively participated in teams showcasing us the team spirit and building good bonds with the fellow young people. Being in their playful mood they enjoyed riding swings but were very responsible about the way they conducted themselves while being in public spaces. Therefore, the idea of teaching good habits even while having fun helps the young people in developing their overall personality.
Shaping youth perspectives
Youth PWR planned on ending the program with unravelling the journey of imagination through visualising story telling techniques. The motive of the conducted workshops revolved around creating storyboard around the concept of dreams. Young people successfully built story boards, practiced public speaking skills and tried integrating real life factors in their fictional narratives. We believe one of the best ways to introduce young people to diverse cultures, experiences and perspectives is through cinema as it has answers to their curiosity, ignites their imagination, and develop a love for storytelling. It also provides valuable lessons in empathy and emotional intelligence, when young people are experiencing a range of emotions in a safe and controlled environment so to integrate these learnings, we hosted a fun cinema outing too.
One thing common between all these days filled with diversified topics and experiences was the in-house free time given to the young people after every day’s planned activities. This is like an opportunity to interact with their peers in a relaxed environment, building friendships and strengthening interpersonal skills. By encouraging in-house free time, Youth PWR Charity not only prioritises the well-being of young people but also support their natural curiosity and joy of exploration.
We plan on hosting many such sessions and focus on achieving our goals for Engaging, Inspiring and Educating youth. If you are a young person or if you know anyone who would benefit from our programmes, please click here to register for our programmes.