dance4life
dance4life is an international initiative which aims to inspire, mobilise and unite young people in the battle against HIV and AIDS. The programme was founded in 2003 and is now up and running in 20 countries.
In 2006 dance4life arrived in Ireland and it is hoped that the dance4life team will visit 12 schools in 2009 as well as a number of youth groups.
The programme is based around the dance4life drill, a dance that is taught to students in each of the participating countries. Although every country is encouraged to add to the drill and make it culturally unique, the dance gives students a connection to participants from all around the world.
The Irish dance4life programme is being run by the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) and is offered to schools and youth organisations free of charge.
The tour team, made up of lively performing arts volunteers, spends a few hours with students and youth groups teaching them the drill.
In addition to the visit from the Tour Team participating schools will take part in dance4life’s Life Skills Programme.
The Life Skills Programme consists of workshops that will equip students with a variety of skills and knowledge around HIV and AIDs and the way that it affects their lives and the lives of their peers in the developing world.
It will also help them to think about and look into their own rights around Sexual and Reproductive Health. The programme will also cover some aspects of self-esteem, decision making and will look at respect and responsibility.
This training seeks to give youth the knowledge to protect themselves against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, but also gives them the tools to share the knowledge they have gained with their peers.
With the help of the dance4life team at the IFPA, the student groups are then encouraged to take action within their communities in order to spread awareness of an issue they find particularly important or relevant.
Depending on the size and interests of the group, this can range from a survey of STI knowledge amongst their families and friends to painting a mural at a local park, to fundraising. In completing this project, these young people become “agents of change” and are encouraged to continue activism for those issues which are most important to them.
On December 1, to celebrate World Aids Day, the dance4life programme teamed up with The Base Youth Centre in Ballyfermot to deliver elements of the programme to 420 young people from the area.
The event was a warm up for the worldwide dance4life event, which will take on the Saturday before World AIDS day in 2010. Dance events will be held in each of the participating countries for the new Agents of Change, and all events are connected via satellite.
Besides getting a sense of the sheer scale of the programme, and how many different groups of people the message has reached, the party culminates in the entire dance4life community doing their drill together at the same time.
By using music and dance, the dance4life programme reaches students in a meaningful way that will remain with them throughout their lifetimes. With the help of dedicated and talented volunteers, the Irish youth will benefit in countless ways over the course of the next school year and years to come.
More?
- dance4life World Aids Day celebration at the Base Youth Centre, Ballyfermot. See here
- This summer the dance4life team worked with a youth group in Co Kildare. See photos at our Photo Gallery
For more information about dance4life Ireland see here
For education resources see here
For more inforamation about dance4life international see here
For more information about dance4life Ireland contact Ann Kennedy on 01 8069444 or email ann@ifpa.ie