New Resource On Hip Hop For Youth Workers

WEDNESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2005

Scribe Launches New Resource On Hip Hop For Youth Workers

Scribe has lent his profile to tonight’s launch of a new Internet-based resource for youth workers, which explores Hip Hop as an instrument for young people’s development.

Scribe will introduce several Hip Hop artists who will perform at Wellington’s City Gallery, where frontline professionals and volunteers who work with young people have gathered to celebrate
The Next: an impression of Hip Hop expression.

The Next was developed by the Global Education Centre in response to a limited understanding of
Hip Hop culture among New Zealand youth workers and educators.

Project Manager of The Next Gino Maresca said Scribe’s support is a huge endorsement for what The Next stands for and the information that the resource contains.

“Hip Hop is the language, the culture and soundtrack of many young people of the world,” he said.

“It is time we understood that the mindscapes, landscapes and cultural orientation of young people today are very different from any other period in history,” he said. “Hip Hop has emerged in New Zealand as a unique fusion of local music, language and cultural values – to the extent that it has become a vibrant and distinctive youth culture.”

“The Next is based on the belief that sound educational experiences can be derived from young people’s interests. By understanding the themes covered in the resource, we hope that youth workers and educators will be inspired to structure meaningful learning programmes and explore the potential that Hip Hop culture can play in the development of our young people.”

Tonight’s launch is the pinnacle of a two-year project funded by Save the Children New Zealand and the JR McKenzie Trust. Extensive research was carried out with the Hip Hop community; youth workers and young people to ensure their voices were reflected accurately in the resource.

“The practicality and relevancy of the resource to all three groups was vital to its success,” said
Mr Maresca.

Although The Next is Internet-based, high-resolution multimedia copies are also available on CDROM from the Global Education Centre.

MORE …
FURTHER INFORMATION

- Please refer to the backgrounder that accompanies this press release.
- Visit the new, official website for The Next – live from 8 September 2005 www.thenext.org.nz

The following organisations have been involved in the development of The Next as project partners:

- Global Education Centre
- Save the Children New Zealand
- Tearaway
- YWCA
- Base Two
- The Church
- Back2Basics

Contact
Joanne Dean, Save the Children New Zealand on 04 381 7573, mobile 021 137 6694 or email joanne.dean@scnz.org.nz

ENDS

WEDNESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2005

BACKGROUNDER TO THE NEXT

What is The Next?

The Next project consists of two parts:
- Research into Hip Hop culture in New Zealand;
- A resource for youth workers that provides a sound understanding of Hip Hop culture, how it empowers young people, and how it can be used to engage them in an exploration of the world around them, locally and globally. The Next resource has been developed so that even those with little awareness of Hip Hop can integrate aspects of Hip Hop culture into their work with young people.

The Next seeks to bring together different sectors of our society – Hip Hop community members and non-members alike – to combine talents, beliefs, thought processes and our diverse knowledge and skills to truly reflect the value of Hip Hop within our communities.

The project is a living process, relying on the passions and inspirations of those involved.

Some findings from The Next research

- There is limited awareness of the potential or application of Hip Hop as an educational tool. The majority of information on the subject reduces the use of Hip Hop in programmes to young people’s participation in the elements and overlooks the potential that it has for providing meaning to young people’s lives.
- Hip Hop culture has long been a tool of activism. The incorporation of social issues into Hip Hop culture means that Hip Hop has become a voice for those young people to comment on the social climate, whether it be political, racial or economic in nature.
- Society has had a predominantly negative view of Hip Hop culture in the past. The Next research highlights subtle shifts in the prevailing attitudes, especially in the last three years. Local initiatives are having a positive effect on the overall perception of Hip Hop.
- Youth in Hip Hop have a lot to say about Hip Hop – and as young people are getting involved all around the country, they all have different perspectives about what Hip Hop is and how it relates to them. Although issues and opinions differ from region to region, The Next research identifies some universally held views on Hip Hop, including:
. there are four elements in Hip Hop culture
. the importance of rap/poetry
. the importance of fashion/style as an identifying feature
. the importance of language/slang as an identifying feature.

Who are the Project Partners?

1. Global Education Centre
The Global Education Centre (GEC) is New Zealand's only specialist education centre providing resources, training and information on Global Education to both schools and the community. GEC views young people as key protagonists in developing solutions to the issues facing them.
www.globaled.org.nz

2. Save the Children New Zealand
Save the Children is a child rights organisation working for a world that respects and values each child, that listens to children and learns, and where all children have hope and opportunity.
The organisation delivers immediate and lasting improvements to children’s lives worldwide. Save the Children is proud to be part of The Next, a project that embodies the principle of youth participation.
www.savethechildren.org.nz

3. Tearaway Magazine
“The Voice of New Zealand youth” is produced for young people for young people. It is the most widely read youth magazine in New Zealand.
www.tearaway.co.nz

4. YWCA (Ydub)
Ydub is the name for work done by and for young women within the YWCA. The Ydub network identifies the needs of young women and responds to those in different ways – through publishing booklets and magazines, running programmes and much more.
www.ydub.org.nz

5. Base Two
Base Two is an integrated design agency that has strong connections with youth-focused clients and the arts community.
www.basetwo.co.nz

6. The Church
The Church is a young design company with a unique business model which allows the country’s leading young creatives to work alongside its studio team to get the experience they need to gain employment.
www.thechurch.co.nz

7. Back2Basics (2002 – June 2005)
Back2Basics magazine covers all aspects of the thriving local and national Hip Hop scene – allowing Hip Hop artists to interview and document their peers.
www.back2basics.co.nz

Further information

Visit the new, official website for The Next – live from 8 September 2005 www.thenext.org.nz

ENDS

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