Working through artistic and cultural activities has a unique power to bring about personal transformation and social change.

It can offer vulnerable children and young people a compelling means of communication, self-expression and hope. Carefully designed, this kind of work can offer inspiration in the face of the poverty and violence of their every day lives and can show ways in which they can transform their own futures.

ABC believes this is the key to building self confidence, opening new horizons and unlocking hidden potential. At the same time children and young people can be engaged in talking about broader issues concerning citizenship, the environment, drugs, violence and sexual health.

The impact of working through the arts is often more profound and long-lasting than more traditional educational or community development activities. And change is not only felt at an individual level but can also reach far into the family, wider community and beyond.

arts for social change

Cinema Nosso provides access to media and film which gives disadvantaged young people a chance to tell their stories to the world. Working in media arts allows students to not only learn new skills but it also means they can show the positive sides of their communities filled with joy, dignity and mutual support as well as the inequalities and exclusion they experience and the tragic realities of life which exist for many.

a place to learn

What the children enjoy and learn in dance, music, theatre, art and circus skills is also the way in which the team at Crescer e Viver engages children in dialogue about their lives and how to overcome the enormous difficulties they face.  By working through the arts they show that it is possible to break what are so often 'invisible boundaries', and how they can form bridges not just between individuals but within their communities too.