Girls voices matter in Chicago and abroad

Conversations with teachers, principals and other arts organization leaders are pointing to one disturbing trend - younger children developing unhealthy habits in part due to excessive and/or unmonitored screen time. Global Girls believes in science and understands that the arts can be a powerful tool to begin versing that trend. Neuroscience research has shown us that early childhood is a time of tremendous brain development. The young brain literally changes shape and size in response to everything encountered in this early period of development. New environment, life experiences, caretakers and relationships can all affect the way complex brain circuits are wired.

While our target market continues to be African American girls, ages 6 to 18, we’re expanding programs to engage girls and boys as young as three. “My First Show” is now in three south side Chicago public schools and will expand to seven additional locations by the end of the year. Global Girls is piloting this performing arts program in daycare settings and kindergartens using dance, theatre and music to teach communication, team-building and social/emotion skills. There’s also a parent component wherein parents have fun learning effective communication skills, emotional regulation and healthy lifestyle skills, all tools that will help them personally as well as in their roles as parents. We believe that exposing children and parents to the arts early will whet their appetites and prepare them to participate in community-based arts programs including Global Girls.

We trust that many of those children will continue in Global Girls and, one day, travel internationally with us in arts exchange programs teaching other youth to use their voices for positive change in their communities. We are still on target to travel to Tanzania in February 2022 with eight current program participants ages 14 to 18 and eight staff members.

Links:

• Global Girls website
• Younger girl keeps up with older girls

As the world reopens from COVID shutdown, Global Girls is gearing up for a full summer of programs, new performances and new partnerships. Our yearlong “In Person Virtual School” initiative serviced 55 youth between September 8, 2020, when Chicago Public Schools began virtual classes, and June 4, 2021, after staff, parents and the youth decided to shut down operations. The school year officially ends June 18.

Many of our youth will join girls from all over the Chicago area and a few from surrounding suburbs for the 9^th Annual Youth Performance Camp. Girls ages 4 to 14 learn social emotional skills, dance, acting, singing and have a wonderful time making new friends and reconnecting with old ones. Thankfully, with our entire team vaccinated as well as many of our older youth, we will have a full camp. As in prior years, the seven week, five days a week program will culminate in a spectacular finale where youth present to family and friends all the skills learned throughout the summer. Two camp highlights are the Power Lunch bringing together professionals from a variety of fields with our youth to expose them to a plethora of career options. The second initiative is our Beauty in the Community campaign where youth and community members select parks, streets, alleys, lots to clean and ask residents to pledge to keep those areas litter free. This year, we’ll debut the Youth Short Film Festival. Our girls love creating videos on their phone. So rather than ask them to use phones during camp hours, we’ll incorporate the technology. Film and media production students from Chicago State University will teach video units and help with final projects.

The adult performance program finale returns in August starting with acting and dance classes for members of our south side community. The first production is entitled “In This House” a look at how five families endured or managed the COVID lockdown as well as the lasting impacts.

Lastly, it is time to travel again!!! We’ve partnered with MuDa Africa, a performance group for young women and men in Tanzania doing similar work to what we do here in Chicago. Thanks to our alliance with Chicago Peace Fellows and one fellow in particular, Yusuph Masanja, who facilitated the introduction, six of the older performers will travel to Dar Es a Lam in February 2022 to learn their dance techniques and share a bit of ours. We are thrilled to connect with another group from the diaspora and to once again, expand our Global network. Check out MuDa African’s work. A contingent of adults will join us after studying the Global Girls methodology and becoming official Ambassadors for transformation through the arts. But first, everyone must take the vaccine! https://en.unesco.org/creativity/ifcd/projects/strengthening-contemporary-dance-scene-east

Links:

• Muda Africa, our partner in Tanzania