"I had no idea about leaders and leadership before! Participating in this training, I learned a lot about leadership. I learned from the training what qualities a great leader should have. I will try to serve as a leader in our child forum and share what I have learned in this training with my other friends.” These were the words of Khadija (14), a student of class 8 who participated in a 4-day-long training on “Child Leadership & Cultural Movement” which was organized in Kurigram by the child Sponsorship Unit of ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB) to enable the children to understand the basic idea of leaders and leadership. This training was conducted to demonstrate essential leadership skills which are required for mobilizing others including communication, team management, conflict management, and decision-making.
Child leadership refers to developing leadership skills in children, while cultural movement refers to the promotion & preservation of cultural values & practices. Child leadership is an important skill that helps children develop self-confidence, decision-making & problem-solving skills. Effective leadership is also essential in fostering positive relationships, team building & communication skills, which are crucial to personal and professional development. Cultural walks all the time accelerate the psychosocial development of children. Children involved in culture cannot easily go astray. Along with that, it is possible to portray society through drama or song. And thus, cultural activities can be a tool for social change.
Ishita (15), a student of class 8 said, "I am lucky to have participated in this training. I have learned that anything difficult can be achieved with hard work and practice. I also learned how to act in a drama from this training, how we can present our society through drama or music, and how cultural activities can change our society! I am grateful to ActionAid Bangladesh for giving us the opportunity to participate in this kind of training.”
27 children and 2 community facilitators participated in this training. The training was conducted from 02 May 2023 to 05 May 2023. This training will help children and young people to develop critical thinking, creativity, and self-awareness. It can also help to promote positive values such as respect for diversity, empathy, and social responsibility. This training had a special focus on climate justice & eradicating child marriage. Through cultural movements, the program aims to raise awareness and promote action to achieve these goals. Eliminating child marriage & addressing the impacts of climate change are crucial to ensuring a sustainable future for our planet and protecting the rights & well-being of children.
As part of the environmental protection and climate change prevention initiative, each participant in the training received four trees to plant in their backyard. At the end of the training day, the participating children all come up with a plan to contribute to raising awareness about climate change and justice in their local community through the use of drama throughout the year.
