The Youth Cultural Connection Project

The Youth Cultural Connection Project is divided into three main programs. These include: 1)The Creation Project- The participants meet for weekly sessions to engage in various cross-cultural education projects. The youth are able to utilize and enhance their creative minds by constructing a cultural portfolio to be used in a cross-cultural exchange. Portfolio pages from the youth participants from another country are shared throughout the sessions to teach them about the lives of other youth across the world. Through the portfolios the youth also have the opportunity to gain new skills such as writing, poetry, art, and photography. 2) The Connection Project strives to create a platform where the youth from different backgrounds can have a space to engage with and inform each other about their different experiences and cultures. This takes place through camps, field trips, and conferences which create a dialogue amongst the youth at local venues. While this interaction will most likely only take place in-person on the local level, it also takes place with youth in the United states through the exchange of letters and video conferenceing, and allows for future exchange programs in which youth from South Africa visit youth from the United States and vice versa. 3) The Skills Building Project- It is very important for the youth to be exposed to new skills and interests in order to create a better sense of self-worth and purpose within their communities and the world. The organization strives to expose the participants to a variety of extramural activities through workshops in sports, dance, drama, and art. This has been successful with the help of skilled community members, university students, and volunteers. After-school activities are also provided for the youth in the community to have a safe space to be children, express themselves, participate in sports and art, and to interact with positive peers and role models.