education

Keleketla! After School Programme (2008-present)

Access to the use of literature, arts and media tools for education, life

The Keleketla! After School Programme (K!ASP) was established in 2008 as a youth learning space that relates history and contemporary issues to the lived experience. The programme aims to engage youth in critical analysis of contemporary social, political and economic issues of the city, the country and the continent.

This is achieved through dialogue over a period of approximately ten weeks. The dialogue is interactive and centres on heritage and real life experiences between youth (high school learners and young practitioners). Furthermore, the dialogue leads to creative output in the form of visual art, recordings, text, performance and other expressive tools.

The programme creates a meaningful space for youth to use available tools in ways that contributes to learning and personal expression. The consistent programming, as opposed to once-off activities, enables sustained growth through scaffolding of information. The consistent programming further attracts members to return year after year, some moving into higher education with strong ties to Keleketla! Library. Thus the programme builds a community.

K!ASP contributes to high school education and develops young thinkers and problem-solvers. It builds talent and skills in arts methods and critical thinking. Our After School Programme thus contributes to not only the demands of high school education, but also develops voice and self-articulation in a city of outsider representation.

Teen Talk & We Are One! March (2012)

Teen Talk is a youth forum in the format of a talk show, produced by members of Keleketla! Library’s After School Programme. The project was supported by Medicins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Teen Talk was a school’s workshop component of the anti-xenophobia campaign, Solidarity for Survival, held at the Constitution Hill between May and June 2012.

The nine-member strong crew worked under the guidance of experienced mentors from diverse fields including research, TV & Film production and visual arts. Furthermore, the show invited experienced practitioners as guests, ranging from activists on Pan-African Diasporas issues to public health practitioners. The audience consisted of a diverse group of youth living in greater Johannesburg. As an appropriation of a youth magazine programme, the shows incorporated contemporary dance, poetry and music charged with fresh perspectives and powerful expressions. Thus, the shows produced a rich dialogue on migration through media processes and tools. Teen Talk will be released on DVD and online platforms, in October 2012.

See some images from the march here

Urban Areas Act publication (2011)

Between August and October 2011, the After School Programme revisited the Urban Areas Act of 1923 that deemed urban areas in South Africa as “white” and required all black African men in cities and towns to carry permits. The project engaged with the change of demographics in the inner city, with a focus on migration and xenophobia. The project outcomes include contemporary dance, experimental audio play, original music, creative writing and public mural. A publication of the same name, incorporating lesson plans and reflections is set for release in October 2012 with the support of the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF).

Some of the outcomes from Urban Areas Act are here and here and here

56 Years to the Treason Trial (2011 to present)

56 Years to the Treason Trial is a series of conversations between youth and historians with a focus on heritage and the lived experience. The project will launch a publication of the same name in October 2012, funded by the NLDTF. The publication consists of conversations between historians (including Ahmed Kathrada and Judy Seidman), After School Programme youth, educators and Grade 11 history class from Freedom Community College. The publication will also include essays and articles on culture, history, education, youth and development.

See images here and here

Once Upon A Month (2008)

Once Upon A Month was a series of monthly day and night events to share outcomes of the After School Programme youth and expose Johannesburg-based musicians. The events used both the interior and exterior spaces of the Drill Hall through theatre, story telling, visual arts and dance. The accompanying evening music platform profiled bands such as Impande Core, Meat the Veggies, Planet Lindela, valuable networks that the project returned to for the Thath’i Cover Okestra on the occasion of the Shoe Shop project in 2012.

Structure

We implement three ASP projects per annum, with clearly specified outcomes. Keleketla works with school youth, teachers and young practitioners in defining each project. Highly consultative, the project always begins with focus groups with youth to identify their interests. Potential facilitators are only identified after we have established the interests of the participating youth.

Teachers are called in for workshops to explore ways that our programme links to and contributes to the curriculum, specifically Grade 11 and 12 History modules. The duration of each project is approximately ten weeks, with outcomes ranging from performance to publications, contingent on the nature of the disciplines. The performances are open to parents, teachers and the general public.