Blending Spectrum – Health, Education and Peer Based Counseling
Launched in 2006, Blending Spectrum connects urban young people through a peer-to peer community interaction with street and slum children, with the aim of increasing sensitivity between street and slum children and the urban youth. Blending Spectrum provides healthcare and non-formal education (including Life Skills Based Education), facilitating the potential of children with limited access to opportunities.
The project works in two locations at the Nizamuddin Basti and at the Sarai Hostel (with partner Aman Biradiri) in South and North Delhi respectively. Bending Spectrum currently supports over 160 children and works with 30 volunteers. In the past year, we have incorporated 60 children into mainstream education by equipping them with basic knowledge of math and English. Blending Spectrum is supported by the Global Fund for Children.
Project 19: Know Your Body, Know Your Rights
Project 19 trains young people to become Peer Facilitators on the issue of HIV/AIDS, Sexuality, Health and Rights. Peer Facilitators develop independent research case studies, produce their own short films and literature and conduct yearlong awareness campaigns that include hosting public discussions and workshops with young people.
The project has reached out to over 1,500 young people through its workshops and has also expanded nationally, to host The Project 19 Annual Festival, that brings together over 600 at risk and marginalized group and urban youth together in Delhi from 12 states in India to lobby and articulate their collective rights to their sexual reproductive rights and health. Project 19 has been supported by NACO, UNDP, UNAIDS, UNICEF, The Ford Foundation, The Packard Foundation and TARSHI and worked in partnership with companies like Punj Lloyd and Moser Baer.
What Does Your Vote Want? Young People, Citizenship and Governance
The Right to Information Branch develops young people’s engagement with legislative research, increased awareness on laws in India and their application to our daily lives. What Does Your Vote Want?’ is a non political, non partisan project both initiated and run by young people in 2008 that aims at sensitizing young voters, by giving them relevant and necessary information regarding the Indian Electoral System. Last year, the project successfully registered more than 4000 people in Delhi and Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
The natural question, post Elections 2009 was, what next? How do we make young people active in governance processes? The project is training a group of young peer educators on using The RTI Act in India, further conducting college workshops, panel discussions, meet your leader accountability sessions and other methods of community advocacy.
The campaign has partnered with Channel V, Live Mint and Radio Mirchi. In partnership with Sony, The YP Foundation released ‘Say Something’ featuring renowned international artists such as John Mayer, The Fray, Michael Jackson, Pink etc in May 2009, a music album that promotes the What Does Your Vote Want campaign across India.
V.O.I.C.E.S – The School Project – Addressing Life Skills and Mental Health
V.O.I.C.E.S – The School Project is a peer education project that aims at developing stronger life skills and informed decision making with school going adolescents, addressing mental health issues that continue to grow in importance in urban schools. VOICES conducts a yearlong module, training 20 University Peer Educators on a range of issues including depression, bullying, substance abuse and eating disorders linked to peer pressure, stereotyping and the influence of appearances on adolescents.
V.O.I.C.E.S provides a safe, non-judgmental space for adolescences to express and formulate their attitudes on issues relevant to them. A recommendations report is provided to each school at the end of the process, to suggest further, self-sustaining steps the school can engage in, to continue an open dialogue. V.O.I.C.E.S engages 20 volunteers and has worked with The Shri Ram School, Sanskriti School, DPS RK Puram, Bluebells International School and Vasant Valley School amongst others. DELL and Milkfood have supported the project.
The Butterfly Project – Supporting Film & Literature
The Butterfly Project runs:
- The Bridge, an independent magazine series run by young people, on issues that they are personally committed to. The Bridge is edited, designed, produced and funded by young people. 6 editions have been released since 2004.
- The Film Series, an annual film festival that encourages amateur and professional filmmakers to share short films on social issues. Last year, over 500 people attended the film festival over 2 days where 12 movies were screened from all over the country.
- Digital Storytelling: We with the Global Fund for Children and the Center for Digital Media and Storytelling to train young people to create their own digital media stories.
The Butterfly Project works with a team of 20 volunteers and has been supported by the Global Fund for Children, IDEA, The Idea Works, Punj Lloyd and the Nishit Saran Foundation.
Silhouette – Enabling the Arts
Silhouette creates stronger platforms to showcase young artistes and develops resources to exchange information and raise awareness on music education and theatre. Silhouette works under two initiatives:
- The Open House Series: An innovative conversation space designed for young people to explore the many faces of the arts. Silhouette conducts workshops and forums created to question, reinvent, challenge and reveal perspectives in music and theatre.
- Impromptu: A performance showcase that focuses on giving artistes working with theatre and music in Delhi a space to showcase their work, making their idea, process and ‘product’ accessible to new audiences.
Since 2005, Silhouette has supported establishing young people’s initiatives in the arts, from Wide Aisle Productions, a theatre production group to acclaimed music group Artistes Unlimited. Silhouette curated The 15 Minute Fringe Festival in December 2006 for Kri Foundation and Kat Katha and partners extensively with The American Centre. Platform Magazine, News X, Traffic Life Magazine, Punj Lloyd and Hit 95 FM have supported Silhouette.
The language of sexuality that we use at The YP Foundation has evolved over the last few years as our understanding of what the multiple facets of and interconnections within sexuality, gender, rights and health are. It’s been a challenging process and our knowledge of the same has been challenged, redefined, questioned and re-invented. The most important learning principle is that there is little that is static. Our key principles remain the same, but how those are defined and applied is a continuous learning process.
