Move this World

"It is a fun and exciting way to give young people something to do with their time; it gives them a way to be aware of themselves and to see how they can make a positive contribution to society. The program also creates an ideal meeting place so that young people can think and act globally. It is surprising how the Dance4Peace program can be applied across the world in different cultural contexts."

Becky Gitonga  

This education initiative for coexistence, which is based on “Creative Movement”, was created in Colombia from a pilot project conducted in 2007 to promote emotional and citizenship competencies through education for peace among children that are affected by school violence.

Its widespread application has enabled the proposal to be scaled up to other contexts, where the promotion of democratic values and citizen participation remain at the center of each individual’s training process. The initiative has since managed to expand to several countries – United States, Philippines, Austria, and Germany – and it is also a part of the International Platform for Professional Exchanges in the Transformation of Conflicts through Dance.

It is based on a pedagogical model that mobilizes body energy and emotional education to enrich the individual and collective capacity to construct a culture of peace and promote new forms of dialogue and empathy among people, thereby propitiating changes in behavior and a greater awareness of harmonious coexistence.

It was selected because of the priority it places on the body as a venue for memory, emotion, and pleasure; combining the language of movement with strategies for conflict resolution allows the creation of opportunities for self-recognition and for reinterpreting relations with others.

In addition, its capacity to multiply trainers and replicate the methodology in different cultural contexts based on a managerial and business model that seeks sustainability provides an example of how private management can combine with educational models that promote inclusive approaches that are also committed to a culture of peace.

OBJECTIVES

• To promote social and emotional learning for young people across the world through the art of movement.
•  To provide the students with skills and strategies related to anger management, conflict resolution, empathy, and expression, offering them the possibility of becoming leaders and agents for peace in their communities.

WHAT IT INVOLVES

This initiative offers education through dance and creative movement, combined with conflict mediation strategies. Through the vehicle of dance, the problems of violence and bullying at school are addressed and peace is fostered at the locations where it is implemented. 

This initiative’s pedagogical proposal includes emotional expression, empathy, understanding and appreciation of diversity, conflict resolution, mediation, and anger management, in a set of social tools and emotional skills.

Move This World has developed a progressive curriculum across the world, which is implemented as a component of learning in the classroom for students from preschool through 12^th grade. In order to produce the next generation of peace builders and civic leaders, it works from an integrated approach for the consolidation of peace by promoting social and emotional learning among young people.

TARGET AUDIENCE

The target population for the programs of Move this World includes children at primary school (up to 6^th grade), secondary school (from 7^th to 9^th grade), and high school (10^th to 12^th grade). Although the initiative focuses in particular on low-income communities from across the world, that does not preclude participation by medium- and high-income communities.

The following are the number of the initiatives participants as of 2012.

• United States: 7,550
• Latin America: 300
• Southeast Asia: 929

ACHIEVEMENTS

This initiative is a pioneer in incorporating dance into school curriculums, from preschool to 12^th grade. Its interventions have also helped reduce the tendency of children, adolescents, and young people to communicate through verbal or physical violence. These results can be seen following an evaluation processes for which the organization itself establishes indicators that are prepared before and after the art education is provided.

In addition, the initiative has been successful in training youth leaders interested in creating a culture of peace in the various cities where its methods have been put into practice. 

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION 

Through the methodologies followed, which are based on the principle that education empowers individuals and communities, Move This World promotes the participation of young people as leaders of their communities. It is not just about dancing or publicizing or teaching dance; instead, dance and creative movement are approached and used as vehicles for self-expression. Teachers and parents also participate in this initiative.

PROFILE OF TEACHERS

The leaders and trainers are professionals in fields related to dance, education for peace, administration of the arts, and public health.

The people who work directly with the students, teachers, and parents in the classroom are generally aged around 20 and are enrolled in graduate studies related to dance and missions for peace. They are dancers, actors, and artists, and they are experienced in working with young people.

To build the capacities of its partners and members, Move This World also trains them in conflict resolution, education, school administration, and other topics.

In turn, the teachers receive 16 hours in initial training, with monthly monitoring, and a further 16 hours’ refresher training at the start of each semester after receiving their initial training.

FINANCING

This nonprofit organization is funded by the payments it receives for the services it provides in the schools or institutions where its methodology is followed. Those services are: provision of training courses on education for peace, pedagogical tools, and training as a facilitator of Move This World.

They also receive funds from individual donors and promote the search for scholarships.

EVALUATION

Move this World involves the community in its evaluations. Thus, it works with school administrators, guidance professionals, teachers, students, and parents to hear their points of view and to gather qualitative and quantitative data that will help to assess the initiative’s impact in each community. The facilitators, with the support of the dance teachers and another four peace monitors (youth volunteers) oversee the evaluations.

The mastery of the learning objectives is assessed after each session, while the impact on the results identified in the theory for change (empathy, anger management, etc.) of Move this World is measured by carrying out pre- and post-evaluations at the start and conclusion of each semester. Impact indicators include:  the acquisition of social and emotional skills by the participants to transform conflicts, the creation of safe environments, and the creation of safe communities.

During the first half of 2012, the schools where the program was implemented reported a 40% reduction in bullying at school, an 80% increase in empathy among participants, and a 50% reduction in conflicts.

RISKS

Move This World believes the greatest risk would be for the institutions, schools, and universities at which it targets its services to be unable to meet the program costs.

FUTURE PLANS

Move This World plans to pursue global expansion through partnerships with universities, nonprofit organizations, governments, and other kinds of organizations that can serve as training centers and offer the possibility of adapting the methodology.

It has recently begun to work with Georgetown University and the Stanford Institute for Innovation to share know-how about experiences and results.

REPLICATION POTENTIAL

Move this World has been replicated through international nodes that act as franchises and reproduce the model.

The program is currently being implemented in the United States, Colombia, Philippines, Austria, and Germany.

www.movethisworld.org 
www.facebook.com/MoveThisWorld
www.twitter.com/move_thisworld 
www.youtube.com/baileparalapaz

PERSON IN CHARGE: Sara Porter, Move This World. move@dance4peace.org