Swindon Young People’s Empowerment Programme (Baha’i Swindon)
The Swindon Young People’s Empowerment Programme (SYEP) aims to develop a healthy human spirit in young people. In the Ofsted document of 2004, Promoting Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development, it emphasises: “ … the training of good human beings, purposeful and wise, themselves with a vision of what it is to be human and the kind of society that makes that possible.”
The signs of dispirited young people are all too familiar, such as anti-social behaviour, poor school attendance, bullying, uncontrollable anger, fear of failure and depression. So we are looking for three main things that will indicate whether our programmes are having a beneficial effect in developing a healthy human spirit young people. These are:
- An increase in sense of self worth
- Improvements in behaviour
- Increased motivation to learn and become involved in service to others
In order to develop a healthy human spirit, we have created an innovative training programme called the Tranquillity Zone and Discovery Zone. In the Tranquillity Zone, participants undertake an inner journey of visualisation and music. The peaceful and beautifully decorated environment helps young people to discover their hidden “gems of inestimable value,” human qualities such as confidence, respect, honesty and helpfulness. In the Discovery Zone that follows, they reflect on their experiences and learn to articulate their feelings. They also participate in activities and moral choice games that enable them to better understand their positive human qualities.
SYEP is now established in 20 schools in Swindon.
Contact name
Fidelma Meehan
Address
Baha'i Projects Office c/o 10 Bibury Road
Old Walcot
Swindon
SN3 1DD
Tel
07970 868 364
Email
fidelma@swindon-bahais.org
Web
http://bahaiswindon-syep.aoehost.de/60.html