Kits SPARKS - Gemmes.org - Reflexion Inspiration Action

“It all begins with the spark to

change the world around us…”

SPARKS is an innovative character development program.

It develops 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:

• A short documentary to launch the workshop (4-5 minutes),

• A handbook to guide its implementation.

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

1 SERIES

SPARKS includes a series of short documentaries (four to ﬁve minutes) about lives of inspiring young people around the world. Each episode highlights the personal transformation experienced by a young person during a time of crisis and how they became agents of change for their community.

5 CONTINENTS

The SPARKS episodes are being filmed in five countries by five female directors.

10 STORIES

The series tells the stories of ten young people, from different social settings, backgrounds and cultures, who have all decided to contribute, in their own way, to a better world. Each episode deals with a different theme.

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.

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Handbooks for educators

Each SPARKS episode is accompanied by a handbook for educators.

USERS

The handbooks have been developed for teachers working with young people between 12 and 18.

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 Social Justice and Solidarity
Kit Resilience and Collaboration
Kit Identity and Inclusion

The kits are available in both English and French.

Upcoming themes in 2024:
service, interdependence, moderation.

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.

COÛT

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 (4 to 6 hours) can be conducted in person or in a hybrid format. Gemmes then provides follow-up support to the teachers.

In France, Gemmes works with Réseau Canopé Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, an agency of the French Ministry of Education in charge of training teachers.

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Interested?

For further information, please contact us at
contact@gemmes.org

see SPARKS pp. 9-21

"Running these workshops with our students is also a way of participating in a successful educational relationship: developing mutual trust gives students the security they need to develop in a positive climate. It’s a prerequisite for developing a sense of belonging to their class, to their school. It’s a strong support against school drop-out!"

"Clearly SPARKS could be a mainstay, it’s a goldmine, when you see the impact it can have on our young people; then we want to go further..."

"Everyone was able to talk and participate during the session, much more than in a regular class session. (...) One of our students, who is having a hard time in class and has a complicated family background, kept raising his hand and wanting to share and participate. It was really moving."

"I found the training very rewarding, and it gave me all the tools to facilitate SPARKS workshops. The SPARKS handbook is self-explanatory, with appealing visuals. Everything is provided to us to be able to take action!"

"We facilitated yesterday with two different classes, it was great, the kids were super happy."

"These group activities help to develop autonomy, encourage involvement in joint work, mutual support and cooperation. They develop and restore self-esteem and a sense of connection, which are seriously lacking in our vocational high school students. It’s a real personal development tool for every young person."

"It gave me energy for the recovery and encouraged me to continue analyzing my practice!"

"I enjoyed learning about Gemmes' vision and plans because it represents so much of what I hope to aspire to and achieve as a teacher."

"I myself discovered a different relationship with my students, less vertica, more respectful of each person's identity and more focused on sharing. A wonderful experience."

"These tools bring a lot of meaning to our vocational high school students, and it’s a concrete and innovative tool for their teachers."