KEY EVENTS AND PARTNER ORGANISATIONS:
Youth Interfaith: RESPECT – It’s About Time
A TimeBank initiative launched by the Prince of Wales and supported by the Prince’s Trust and the UK’s faith communities. The idea behind Respect is to encourage people to give some of their time to others of different faiths to encourage mutual understanding and respect.
Contributions to ‘RESPECT’:
Voices Beyond Conflict – A dialogue across generations - A dynamic and inspiring conversation held on 8 September 2002 at the Brahma Kumaris’ International Co-ordinating Office (Global Co-operation House) in London between ‘elders’ and ‘young visionaries’ from different cultural and faith backgrounds. The programme was a contribution to the ‘RESPECT’ project.
Respect: Contemplation, Communication and Co-operation was the theme of an Interfaith Youth Retreat held on 19 – 21 September 2003 at the Brahma Kumaris’ Retreat Centre in Oxfordshire
Encouraging the Sacred was the title of an Interfaith Youth Retreat held on 29-31 October 2004 at the Global Retreat Centre in Oxfordshire
The Duke of Edinburgh’s
Award Scheme
Young Leaders Programme – The Stoneleigh Group
The project aims to seek out young people with distinct leadership potential. They will have a passion for bettering themselves, a drive and commitment to ‘be’ something rather than just to ‘do’ something, and an ability to take risks in their development, seeking challenge as a means for personal skills development.
The Stoneleigh Group is a network of voluntary youth organisations: Endeavour Training, the Foundation for Outdoor Adventure, The Prince’s Trust, the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, The Arthur Rank Centre, Focus, the Leadership Trust, UK Youth and Weston Spirit. It is also supported by The Joseph Rank Benevolent Trust and The Wrekin Trust. The Group’s shared purpose is the development of young people and it has created a spiritual development project for young adult volunteers. The group’s intention is to support the development of young people’s values in order to help them become agents of change in their communities and therefore, to immerse them in a retreat environment.
There have been experiential weekends, residential tutorials with mentors in local communities and a project to create a piece of dynamic and effective youth development work..
The Stoneleigh Group on Retreat at the Brahma Kumaris’ Global Retreat Centre, 25 – 27 May 2004.
More Activities for Children and Youth:
Retreats for Young Members of the Brahma Kumaris
One-day retreats for young members of the Brahma Kumaris between the ages of 11 – 14 years and 15 – 25 years have explored spiritual values in practical life. Spiritual solutions for tackling issues such as peer pressure, drug abuse, conflict in relationships have been key themes.
Living Values - Empowering Young People in the 21st Century
A one-day national conference for young people and those who work with or for young people, which was held at Global Co-operation House, London, in November 1999. It was an exploration of the theme of empowerment through workshops, personal reflection and the sharing of experiences, values and vision.
Performing Arts
Since 1992, the Brahma Kumaris’ have hosted an annual pantomime at Global Co-operation House, in London, which encourages children, young people and adults alike to develop their creative skills.
Thousands of children have been entertained and enthralled with free performances of devised productions of such classic stories as Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Alice in Wonderland. The values of love, courage, friendship and respect are interwoven into these timeless stories, enabling children to discover a spiritual dimension in settings they can relate to.
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Contact information:
For further details about the national or international youth activities of the Brahma Kumaris please contact: youth@uk.bkwsu.org.