From the 9th of July till the 13th of August DWNA organised a fun and interactive youth community sessions. It occurred on every Saturday, spanning six weeks at the Uniting Church of Glenroy. The aim of the program was to bring young people together and discuss challenging questions; something that doesn’t occur frequently in public schools. Coupled with that were activities such as Zumba, icebreakers and meditation. Main themes were
Week 1: Knowing yourself
Week 2: Your culture; and your strengths
Week 3: Culture and your Personal Growth
Week 4: Your Culture and identity and gender awareness
Week 5: Team building, trust, and mutual respect
Week 6: Emotion, and interpersonal relationship
One of the questions discussed was ‘What does well-being mean to me’? Well-being can have many different interpretations to different types of people. Some of the answers we received were health, security, purpose, and many more. What followed this was a longer discussion about the various concepts. It was very insightful to hear differing opinions from people of different generations and cultures. The idea of well-being and living a meaningful life seems to be an inspiring idea.
One of the other activities we did was goal setting. It was very practical and gave people a chance to think and plan about their futures. Research shows, people who regularly set and review goals are more likely to live a more fulfilling life. Due to the variation in age, there were vastly different goals. There were some that wanted to learn to cook, enhance their technology knowledge and even buy a house! Every session started off with a fast-paced Zumba class. Far and away the most popular activity, taught by the exceptional Anna. Zumba is a Latin Inspired dance fitness, where the participants follow lead of the instructor. At first glance it looks simple and straight-forwardit is anything but that. We learnt something new, improved our cardiovascular levels, improved coordination and by the end of the 6th week we got better at it. What was a delight to see was that even the shyest of us were moving and jumping around? The effects of Zumba were great and should be brought into future community events.
There were activities that were spiritual. Yogis and meditation gurus taught us about the value of mindfulness and happiness. Mindfulness is being aware of the present situation which can reduce anxiety, stress and worry. Team building exercises demonstrated the power of cooperation. Chinese whispers are a much harder game than it seems!
Conclusion: Overall, the event was a great success. It provided value that can be used beyond the contexts of the programme.
