For Young People
For young people
'Connect - Challenge - Change' - View poster!
Welcome to the Harambee Centre!
If you are a young person who wants to take action on a global issue, maybe you and some friends would like to get involved in a Global Youth Action Project.
Global Youth Action Projects offers a wide range of exciting and challenging projects to stimulate your mind and get you thinking about real world issues that affect your day to day lives. To see the sort of things we offer please see the activities and previous projects below.
Photo stories of Harambee supported youth volunteering
| Getting Stuck In - The Big Dig - young volunteers improve the allotment of a Cambridge based support group for the homeless - the Cambridge Cyrenians. |  |
| Art In The Tunnel - young people from the Blackwell Travellers site in Cambridge clean up the entrance to their site and paint a mural in the tunnel to improve their local environment. |  |
| Painted Large - Youth involved with the Ely Garage project create two massive murals that will decorate the building that the Ely Garage project is renovating to become their new youth arts and social centre |  |
If you would like to volunteer with Harambee, click here.
If you are interested in becoming part of a national network of young people interested in global issues see www.globalyouthaction.org.uk.
Global Youth Action activities, projects and training
Please click below:
Activities:
Previous GYA projects
Training Opportunities
Personal - Local - Global Connections
Aim
To gain an understanding of the links between the personal, local and global levels of our lives and how they influence and are interdependent of one another.
Preparation/Materials
You will need a Black/White board or large piece of paper attached to the floor or wall around which young people can make a circle (Floor) or semi-circle (Wall), three different coloured post-it-notes or squares of coloured paper, chalk/coloured board markers or ball point pens and a large floor or wall space. Write "Me" and circle it in the centre of the paper or board prior to the session.
Duration of Activity
20-25 minutes
Process
Stage 1 (Individually/Small Groups):
Each young person takes three different coloured post-it-notes or squares of paper and writes one word or sentence to describe an issue which affects them at each of the three levels identified (Personal-Local-Global). Separate the individuals into small groups if required due to a very large group.
Stage 2 (Individually/Small Groups):
When the three issues are identified and written down ask the individuals one by one or group by group to attach their post-it-notes or paper squares to the first of the issues (Personal) in a circle, concentric and at equal distance to the "Me" circled in the centre of the Black/White board or Large piece of Paper. Any obvious repetitions can be placed over the top of the previously placed post-it-notes/paper squares but be sensitive to subtle differences which might be lost in doing so. Repeat this with the other two levels (Local and Global).
Stage 3 (Individually/Small Groups):
Ask each individual or small group to choose three post-it-notes/paper squares from one of each of the different levels which they feel are linked.
E.g.: Bullying (Personal) - Anti-social Behaviour (Local)-Human Rights (Global)
They can then place these outside of the circle and place them side by side with a line between each to link them.
Stage 4 (Whole Group):
Whole group discussion about the number of levels at which the same or similar issues is linked. This would identify the different contexts in which the issue is presented at the different levels. Suggestions can also be made for the issues identified that do not have corresponding post-it-notes or paper squares at all of the levels.
Stage 5 (Optional) (Whole Group):
Whole group discussion about the links between the sets of issues (and their three levels) with other issues identified (and grouped in their three levels).
Climate Change Challenge
Aim
To introduce some of the causes and also some of the solutions to the issue of climate change by grounding them in the physical processes and personal actions of our everyday life.
Preparation/Materials
A selection of words relating to climate change printed on A5 coloured paper in pairs (One is the cause and the other the solution), an alarm or stopwatch, and bell to signal end of the challenge.
Examples could include:
- Waste-Re-use/Recycling
- Car Pollution-Walking/Cycling
- Air Miles-Locally Grown Produce
- Intensive Farming/Organic Farming
- Animal Testing/Humane Alternatives
- Nuclear Power/Fossil Fuels-Sustainable/Renewable Energy
- Competition/Cooperation
- Extinction/Conservation
- Power Centralisation/Decentralisation
- Consumption/Self Support
Duration of Activity
15-20 minutes
Process
Stage 1 (Whole Group):
Participants stand in a circle and are given one of the words printed on the A5 coloured paper. Once every member of the group has a word they are asked to think about whether or not they think the word they have been given is a cause/contributor to climate change or if the word is a solution.
Stage 2 (Whole Group):
Once the group is confident that they have decided the alarm clock or stop watch is set and the Challenge is on. They should break the circle and to talk to all of the members of the group in turn to find if the other is the solution to connect with the cause or vice versa. Meanwhile the clock is ticking and will stop when most of the participants have found their pairs.
Stage 3 (In Pairs/Whole group):
The alarm rings. The pairs have to rejoin the circle and feedback about their issue and the problem and solution connection. Each pair should give an example in everyday life of how this problem affects us in our everyday life and how we as individuals can act to create the solutions. If the pair has been made in error and does not link then there is a call of "Climate chaos!!" and all the pairs must reshuffle in the circle and re-form pairs. This will continue until all the participants have given examples.
Change and Reflection
Aim
To reflect on the nature of change and interdependence, to emphasise the link between our actions and the changes they make upon others and the world.
Preparation/Materials
You will need a series of quotes regarding change written on strips of paper.
Examples could include:
- 'We must become the change we want to see in the world' - Mahatma Gandhi
- 'God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference' - Reinhold Niebuhr
- 'Change alone is unchanging' - Heraclitus (c. 535-c. 475 B.C.), Greek philosopher
- 'All things change, nothing is extinguished. . . . There is nothing in the whole world which is permanent. Everything flows onward; all things are brought into being with a changing nature; the ages themselves glide by in constant movement' - Ovid
- 'A living thing is distinguished from a dead thing by the multiplicity of the changes at any moment taking place in it' - Herbert Spencer English philosopher
- 'Nothing endures but change' - Heraclitus
- 'They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself' - Andy Warhol
- 'If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living' - Gail Sheehy
- 'If a man like Malcolm X could change and repudiate racism, if I myself and other former Muslims can change, if young whites can change, then there is hope for America' - Eldridge Cleaver, black leader, writer
- 'The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created--created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them, changes both the maker and the destination' - John Schaar, futurist
- 'In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists' - Eric Hoffer
Duration of Activity
15-20 minutes
Process
Stage 1 (Whole Group):
The group is numbered one and two throughout the circle and then split into two groups. Each member of the number one group then takes a quote from a hat or box which is folded so that only the opener can read it. The facilitator then explains that in a moment they will be asked to pair up with someone from the other group in pairs and will stand back to back with the other person until the facilitator says start. At which point they will turn around to face one another and the person from the first group will read their quote to the person from the second group, being very conscious to look for the changes in the others expressions. The members of the second group will just be told that they will join a pair in a moment and that they will have to turn around and face the other member of their pair when the time is right.
Stage 2 (In Pairs):
As above.
Stage 3 (Whole Group):
The pairs then regroup to the circle to give feedback. The number ones reading out their quote and also remarking on their observances of the changes, in the person they were reading it to, after hearing it. The number twos will also then state their reactions.
Stage 4 (In Pairs):
The groups switch and enact the same exercise but this time the observers are asked to also note their own feelings about being the observer.
Stage 5 (Whole Group):
Discussion as before but including the personal reflections of the observer also.
Below are a selection of some of the projects that we have run in the past:
- An Asylum seeker group devising, planning and implementing a cultural event to share their nationality's traditional forms of dance, language, cooking and music.
- A Youth Theatre group creating short drama pieces to identify links between the causes, types and resolution of conflict using examples of Iraq, Darfur, Palestine-Israel and Burma directed, created and acted by the young people.
- A Youth Group organising their own 'Bollywood Party' diversity awareness event. Activities included: Henna painting, Refreshments, Photography and fashion exhibition, Dance performance and workshops, Jewellery stalls and workshops, Cultural information, Sari wrapping, Bollywood film re-enacted and Hair stylists.
- A Bangladeshi Young women's group exploring the issues of perceptions of Islam and it's representation in the media, terrorism and racism and campaigning.
- A Fenland NACRO group 'challenging photos' and analysing images which tackled local stereotypes, poverty in Africa, Live aid, black and Asian people in the UK and personal experiences of, and feelings towards immigrant workers in their local community.
Training Opportunities
Global Youth Action Training Packages:
- Global Bites
- Global Youth Action Projects
- Youth Worker Training
- Peer Education Training
- Opportunity to participate in the nationwide 'Global Collective' (Global Youth Work network) - Residential Trainings / Network / Peer Education Training (Accredited)/ Previous Residentials
- Opportunity to attend the Cambridge 'Local Collective'
- Open Days/Education events
- Financial Support: Grant of up to £500 for Youth Groups involved in implementing a Global Youth Action Project/Project Examples/How to Apply? See Global Youth Work
Global Bites
What is a Global Bite?
Global Bite: A short-term or one-off taster of Global Youth Action.
Global Bites (GBs) follow a global youth work approach, including the 3 elements of Connect, Challenge and Change but do not require long-term commitment. They are specifically designed to engage young people we are finding hard to reach and to provide them with opportunities to take the first steps towards:
1. Connect - Short, fun, exciting session brings a group of young people together, connects them to a particular issue and makes the connections between the personal, local and global dimensions of the issue.
2. Challenge - Participants are supported to critically explore the issue and to develop a personal or group challenge based on one of the themes:
- Influencing decision makers
- Environmental action
- Raising awareness
- Celebrating community
- Challenging inequality / social justice
3. Change - Challenges are carried out and the young people involved are supported to reflect on their learning and action and to think about change at a personal, local and global levels. They are also signposted to further opportunities within and beyond the project.
Content of a Global Bite
1. Title
2. Type of challenge
3. Aims
4. Target groups
5. Timing
6. Number of participants
7. Connect
8. Challenge
9. Change
10. Example challenge
11. Supporting resources and where to find them
12. Signposting and progression
Example
Title Gun crime and the global arms trade
Type of challenge Raising Awareness
Aims
- To explore the issues of the global small arms trade with a group of young people and how it impacts on their local community
- To support a group of young people to raise awareness of these issues in their community
Target groups Young people from areas affected by gun crime
Number of participants 10 - 20
Timing 1 day + exhibition
Programme
Connect
- Icebreaker and team-building (30 mins)
- What do we know about guns and what do we know about the arms trade? (30 mins)
- Discussion session round video clips (1 hour)
- Making the links – map drawing workshop of arms trade routes (1 hour)
Challenge
- Challenging perceptions – truth and lies about guns and gun crime game (30 mins)
- Winners and losers in the arms trade role play (1 hour)
- Planning challenge (1.5 hours)
Change
- Future scenarios exercise (30 mins)
- Evaluation activity (20 mins)
- Signposting (10 mins)
Example challenge Get 20 young people to attend exhibition based on outputs from workshops – ‘Small arms from Sierra Leone to Surbiton’
Supporting resources Arms trade video clips, role play materials, guest speakers
Next... GYAP? Ideas for youth-led action
Contacts: CAAT, Small Arms Trade Treaty campaign, local groups...
Global Youth Action Project
Please see Global Youth Action Project.
Global Collective (Residentials)
What is the Global Collective? – The Network and its aims / Previous residentials / Eligibility to attend.
Youth Worker Training
The Global Youth Action project promotes Global Youth Action methodology and practice through its Youth Worker training. This training seeks to empower Youth Workers to respond to the changing circumstances in the lives of young people in their provision of Youth Work.
Examples of Youth Worker training include sessions tackling:
- 'Responses to Terrorism in a Youth Work Setting'
- 'Youth Action Network Training-Overseas Projects'
- 'Refugees, Asylum and Immigration'
- 'An Introduction to Global Youth Work'
- 'Climate Change'
- 'Anti Discrimination and Racism'
- 'Level 2 Youth worker training- Global Dimension and Active Citizenship'
Peer Education Training
Peer Education training is a model of training that supports participants to develop and then deliver information workshops to their peers. Training is group based, challenging and fun, allowing a range of communication skills to be developed, as well as building self-confidence and self-esteem.
Young people participating in the Global Youth Work projects and the Global Collective are eligible to attend two Residentials of two days, focusing on a specific Global Issue such as Global Child Rights which will result in accreditation.
Global Collective (National Network)
The Global Collective is a national network of young people who have been trained and supported to steer the project. The Global Collective links with local and national forums and decision making structures and hosts an annual national GYW conference to showcase the project’s work, disseminate information and materials and share experiences and ideas.
Local Collective (Regional Network)
Venue Arbury Community Centre
Meeting Times / Dates Every Monday evening 6 - 8 pm (excluding public holidays)
Participant Criteria 15 - 18 years of age / enthusiasm to learn more about and take action on a local / global issue
Activities Forum / open space to explore Global Issues and take action to tackle them through:
Film screenings
Cooperative games and activities
Debates and campaigns
Voluntary work and community education
Most importantly of all... Create your own GYA Project! Previous examples include; Rap, Graffiti Art, Theatre, Photography, Film, Cultural Exchange, whatever you would like to do!
View Local Collective poster here!
Want to join us? Please contact: Will Essilfie on 01223 358 116 or using our contact form