On the 21^st of December, the Youth Development Programme (YDP) of FSL-India hosted its first non-formal education session at our head office in Bangalore, Karnataka. The 13 participants consisted of college students and one of our very own FSL-India staff members.

The YDP decided to launch non-formal education sessions because we truly believe that significant learning takes place outside the classroom, and off the desks and chairs.  Through activity based methods of experiential learning, 13 participants were invited to begin exploring concepts of cultural identity and the self.

Besides the 13 participants who attended the session, Shalini Menon (founder of Educators Collective and facilitator of the session) and Shreya Talwar (YDP) worked to bring this session to life.

We are looking forward to hosting more such sessions in order to encourage holistic self-development.

 

In the first activity; Milling, participants gradually moved closer to each other, physically and emotionally, as they responded to questions to each other; ranging from the vague to the personal.

 

 

Over here, over there, the second activity, asked participants to take a stand (literally!) on national issues hitting close to the heart. Taking a stand on issues that we all have very personal opinions on in a safe space encouraged participants to understand each other. It also shed light on the cultural and identity variations amongst the group as each participant explained why they thought the way they did.

 

The Mask activity gave participants a chance to take their hidden arts and crafts skills off the dusty shelves and put them to good use! Using different mediums and methods of learning spurs in individuals different self-discoveries. The masks were intended for participants to represent themselves to the rest of the group, and in the process, through group discussions, understand an outsider’s perception of them.