SPARKS is an innovative character development program. It develops the psychosocial skills and well-being of students as well as their identity as world citizens. The program allows teachers to create a safe space for meaningful discussions among students, where participants reflect both on themselves and on their interactions with society. Through various workshop sessions, students start developing a more positive outlook on themselves, others and the world, which in turn generates the spark to engage in service projects, and become positive agents of change in the community.

The SPARKS workshops are designed to be organized independently by schools or other organizations working with young people aged 12-18 through educational kits. Each kit consists of: educational kits . Each kit consists of:

The SPARKS program starts with a training session in which Gemmes trains teachers on how to run a SPARKS workshop, both in terms of the content of the educational kits and on how to create the most conductive environment for safe and meaningful exchanges amongst students.

SPARKS objectives

  • Cultivate well-being at school and help improve the school climate.
  • Connect young people to different social and cultural realities and develop their psychosocial skills (cognitive, emotional, and social) to support harmonious relationships.
  • Reinforce citizenship education and encourage the implementation of service projects by nurturing a culture of service, collaboration, and solidarity.
  • Help young people become aware of their individual qualities and capabilities, as well as their potential for action, in order to develop self-esteem, self-confidence and the desire to contribute to the well-being of the community.
  • Equip teachers with innovative turnkey educational tools.

SPARKS episodes

The SPARKS documentary short films (approximately 5 minutes) highlight several young people around the world. Each episode reveals the personal transformation experienced by each of them during times of crisis and how they became agents of change. The SPARKS documentary series currently consists of seven episodes filmed in France, India, and the United States.  

The SPARKS workshops begin with the screening of one of these episodes, which serves to initiate and fuel discussion. The positive emotions evoked by the short film turn into a source of inspiration, motivating the audience to engage themselves into service projects. 

Why videos?

It's a medium that's widely consumed by teenagers, especially in short formats, and one that captures their attention. It's also the best way for young protagonists to tell their own stories, directly to other young people.  

Beginning a workshop with a SPARKS episode quickly connects young people to another reality, helping to launch and nurture meaningful discussions. The positive emotions aroused by the video become a source of inspiration, inspiring viewers to take action for the common good.

Handbooks for educators

Each SPARKS episode is accompanied by a handbook for educators. 

USERS 

The handbooks have been developed for middle and high school students.

CONTENT

Each handbook is developed around two main concepts or values connected to the video in the kit. The content is designed to generate personal and collective reflections, both on societal themes and on the positive impact that each individual can have. Several tools are used to stimulate these reflections: questions, role plays, games, group projects, etc.  

 The themes of the first four handbooks are:  

  • Kit Empathy and Responsibility
  • Kit Identity and Inclusion
  • Kit Resilience and Collaboration
  • Kit Social Justice and Solidarity

The kits are available in both English and French.

FORMAT 

One handbook allows a minimum of four hours of workshop time and up to more than ten hours. It is designed to be easily adaptable to the time available to the workshop facilitator and can be split into several sessions.  

Throughout the kit, specific guidance is provided to help set up the workshops and suggest some key ideas to bring out. As a bonus, suggestions have been added to transform certain activities into long-term service projects. 

COST

The program requires a financial contribution from schools. Its amount depends on the number of trainers and the number of students.

SPARKS training

The SPARKS training aims to support teachers in the facilitation of SPARKS workshops. It is a comprehensive and practical training conducted by our team of trainers, where teachers learn how to create the most conducive environment for transformative workshops and get acquainted with the content of the kits.

The training lasts one day for the first kit and then half a day for the subsequent kits. Teachers also benefit from long-term follow-up support, including through online meetings of the SPARKS teaching community to share best practices and challenges in facilitating SPARKS workshops.  

Intéressé·e·s ?

For further information, please contact
Mathilde Travail, our head of partnerships


The SPARKS team of film directors

The SPARKS team of film directors is composed of five women from different cultural backgrounds and diverse styles, all with the same vision of human connection, beauty, community, and the role of youth.

These talented artists have a common goal of showcasing the possibilities of positive transformation during times of crisis and how young people can embrace their potential with courage, autonomy, and civic responsibility.

Jill Coulon 
 France

Jill is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and camerawoman. She works in both television and cinema and directs the SPARKS filmmaking team.

Geetika Narang Abbasi
India 

Geetika is an independent filmmaker whose films have won awards at international festivals. Climate and societal changes are recurrent themes in her work. 

Félicia Sobhani
United States 

Felicia is an independent filmmaker, documentary filmmaker, and multidisciplinary artist with a passion for social transformation.

Head office

Fonds de dotation Gemmes
30 rue Auguste Piccard
01630 Saint-Genis-Pouilly

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Tiers-lieu Apprendre & Devenir
Bâtiment U – 20 avenue du Plateau
69009 Lyon

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