Category: Banging on about… Business

PASCO: animating communities through the creative industries (future possibilities)

 The PASCO (Performing Arts Scene in Obrenovac) project has had significant effects on the cultural infrastructure in the Obrenovac municipality since the project started in 2009. Due to generous support both locally, Buskerud County in Norway and the KS funding programme of the Norwegian government, PASCO has had demonstrable economic, cultural and social impact on the region. The Aspire Trust, together with its Serbian and Norwegian partners had a critical role to play and this post discusses what could be provided in the short term in order to maintain the project momentum and continue to build cultural capacity.

There are three important processes we believe could be undertaken to embed the work of PASCO in Obrenovac and further afield:

* Accrediting practitioners as qualified community artists – a process which will give them credibility and visibility nationally and internationally;

* The provision of professional development programmes (both accredited and unaccredited) for teachers who are looking to develop their own skills in the field;

* The development of enterprise and small business start up skills in the region, particularly focused on the development of the cultural sector and creative industries.

Details of these proposals are as follows.

Accredited Courses: Foundation Degree in Community Arts (FDCA)

The FDCA places a significant emphasis on developing collaborative skills in interdisciplinary arts practice through drawing on, extending and focusing professional arts skills and applying them in a range of community contexts.

Designed by Aspire and accredited by the University of Chester in the UK, the course provides the knowledge, understanding and work-related skills required to play active and proactive roles in the community arts industry. Students reflect on their work and develop the interpersonal and intrapersonal skills required to work as arts practitioners and team members.

Modules are offered at either Level 4 within the UK Higher Education Qualification framework and can be offered at two levels (Level A for beginners Level B for those with more experience.)

Module titles at Level 4A include:

Workshop Skills                  Workshops form the foundation of all community arts practice. Gaining an understanding of the different approaches to running workshops, the theories that underpin the workshop process and how they can be applied in different contexts is essential to the work of the community artist.

Creative Process                  Successful community arts projects rely on a finding a concept which can be developed and realised through the integration of a number of art forms. At the core of this process is a creativity that permeates the progress of the project enabling a variety of practitioners and participants to make their contributions.

Research Skills                                    Gaining as detailed a picture of the landscape and environment as possible, both past and present, will provide a firm foundation for community arts projects. Developing and interest in finding out and the skills with which to do it form a significant part of the community arts process.

Project Development                  Like any other activity community arts projects require good management and administration. Clearly defined aims and objectives need to be planned, budgets and timetables identified and information communicated to all those involved in the safe delivery of a programme.

Module titles at Level 4B include:

Workshop Leader                  Practical experience of running workshops for as many different kinds of groups and in as many different situations as possible is the best way to learn how to become a workshop leader. Starting with the aims and objectives of community groups, working to a plan, improvising if circumstances arise, being able to recognise and correct errors are all part of the process.

The Creative Practitioner                  The work of the creative practitioner in the community is to respond to the aims and objectives of that community. Responses could be based on a single art form, but community arts projects that are based on a combination of art forms have more chance of attracting a range of people to participate, and therefore have a greater likelihood of being inclusive.

The Researcher                   Community Arts work is being practiced by individuals and organisations locally, regionally and nationally. A starting point for both finding employment and creating work has to be a sound knowledge and understanding of what work has happened recently and is happening at the moment.

Further details are available upon request.

The MPPACT Programme: Methodology for Pupil and Performing Arts Centred Teaching 

The involvement of teachers from Obrenovac in PASCO has been another essential element in the project’s success: we would suggest that should other municipalities develop their own PASCO type programme, that accredited CPD programmes for teachers could be established early on in the process.

Aspire  together with a number of other European partners have designed and delivered  the MPPACT project: the Methodology for Pupil and Performing Arts Centred Teaching  Project.   MPPACT was designed and developed by a range of experienced educational partners from around Europe and co-ordinated in the UK by the University of Winchester.  Other project partners were: VIA University College, Viborg, Denmark:  the European Performers House, Silkeborg, Denmark; the Hellenic Theatre / Drama & Education Network, Athens, Greece; the Directorate Of Secondary Education Of Eastern Attica, Greece; the University Of Peloponnese, Greece and  the University of Cyprus.

The purpose of the programme is to foster new teaching practices that engages with contemporary social realities and their reflection in the classroom, and recognises a new broader role for the teacher as pedagogue and works from pupils own creativity, imaginations and criticality.

It does this through the application of arts based disciplines which can develop new means of learning for children and adults, can provide new forms of knowledge and can be instrumental in catalysing personal and social transformation. The emphasis of the programme is on the creativity, imagination, resourcefulness and inspiration that teachers bring to their classrooms and how this can be enhanced, developed and celebrated.

MPPACT’s objectives are:

1. To evolve an integrated arts-based approach to teaching through the sharing of disciplines;

2. To foster educators abilities to revive pupil’s motivation to learn, using participatory performing arts practices and exploring young people’s own creativity and criticality;

3. To develop new practices that foster a ‘co-intentional’ synergy between pupil and teacher;

4. To develop a training course offering an alternative classroom strategy for achieving a critical understanding of relevant social issues;

5. To support and document the process and publish its outputs through web, DVD and printed media.

Further details are available upon request.

Informal Courses

We recognise that full time or long programmes may not be suitable for some artists or teachers so would also recommend providing short, focussed interventions for practitioners as follows:

The Creative Entrepreneur:                  A week long course will provide participants with the skills to become a provider of websites, photographic services, corporate and community video, and graphic design. It will provide the learner with the essential skills they need to successfully create websites for online businesses and develop their abilities as an all round producer of media. During the project, participants will create their own online portfolio for their own website which they can then use to promote themselves and their services. The course consists of the following modules: WordPress and e-commerce; Photoshop Essentials for Graphic Design; Making promotional videos; Photography: product, portraits, websites; Creative Writing.

 Visual Artists in Early Years:                   a 2 day programme which introduces Early Years practitioners to working with visual arts skills in order to develop creative practice of both practitioners and very young children between 3 and 5 years old.

 Rhythm and Things:                   a 2 day programme of training and skills development in singing, musical composition and percussion for Early  Years practitioners; and a parallel 2 day programme of skills and knowledge development for  musicians who wish to work in the Early Years sector, taught by Early Years practitioners.

 Creative Writing in Schools:                   a 4 day programme which develops teacher’s creative writing skills in order for them to develop their own pupils writing abilities.

 Film in a Day:                    a day long programme which introduces learners to the skills of film-making, both in front of and behind the camera.  Each learner ends up with their own copy of their own film at the end of the day!

Cultural Leadership and Enterprise Programme (CLEP)

CLEP would aim to provide knowledge, skills and expertise to new business developers who are working in the field of culture and the creative industries in Obrenovac and the surrounding municipalities in the fields of creative  and cultural leadership and enterprise.

CLEP would provide leaders in the fields of creative industries and culture a programme of activity which will contribute to developing a sustainable cultural and creative sector in the region.  This will include the fields of film, media, theatre, dance, music, visual arts, web design, graphic design etc.

CLEP will be structured around the following programme:

Business Start-Up Weekends – for those who are interested in starting up their businesses but have yet to take the first step

Entrepreneurship Bootcamps – for entrepreneurs who need additional focused advice and guidance on specific entrepreneurial issues

Enterprise Learning Programs – a suite of activities which provide specific skills to business developers who are interested in specific areas of expertise e.g. fund raising, Intellectual property, project management etc

Enterprise Clubs – social events in which members of the PEP network are able to share experiences, expertise, advice and contacts

Mentoring – Building A mentoring Network – for all leaders who want to learn at their own rate and in their own time, e.g. through on-line mentoring services

Sectoral Start-Up – workshops which focus on specific sectors e.g. film, graphic design, theatre

Business Networking & Other Events – opportunities to meet other business leaders from other sectors and other countries to share knowledge, contacts and expertise.

Future posts suggest long term strategies and possibilities.

PASCO: animating communities through the creative industries (the Aspire role)

The PASCO (Performing Arts Scene in Obrenovac) project has had significant effects on the cultural infrastructure in the Obrenovac municipality since the project started in 2009. Due to generous support both locally, Buskerud County in Norway and the KS funding programme of the Norwegian government, PASCO has had demonstrable economic, cultural and social impact on the region. The Aspire Trust, together with its Serbian and Norwegian partners had a critical role to play and this post discusses how that role was played out and what specific approaches were taken to achieve that success.

The Aspire Trust: a brief introduction

Aspire is dedicated to touching lives through creativity. Whether 3 or 93 years old, we offer a range of stimulating, innovative and challenging arts based programmes which will help people tell new stories, create new opportunities and learn new skills.

We were founded in 2002 as an Education Action Zone (EAZ) in the Wirral, UK  to help students in schools in deprived communities increase their educational attainment, attendance in school and attitudes to learning. It was so successful that when the EAZ funding ended in 2004, the Trust continued as an independent social enterprise and registered charity.  From its local beginnings in Wallasey, the Aspire Trust has grown into a truly international enterprise with links in India, the Middle East, Nigeria, and across Europe: most notably in Serbia, the Balkans and South East Europe.

What does  Aspire do?

The methodology informing our core activities is based on community arts based practice: a form which has been proven over many decades, in many different cultural contexts to have significant economic, social and cultural effects on local communities and economies across the world.  Whilst visible in the UK, the USA, Australia and many other countries across the world, it is also frequently prevalent in many parts of the world although its adherents and practitioners would not necessarily name it ‘community arts’ as such.

Its identification is made more difficult as its practice is hard to pin down and determine with any degree of clarity; it is  a concept which many people find hard to understand, sometimes equating it with amateur arts, arts activism or arts therapy.

However, we are quite clear about what we mean by ‘community arts’: it is arts practice which has a social purpose, uses high quality participatory techniques and is presented in a wide range of public spaces.   It uses creative and collaborative arts practice to identify the things that matter to people, to engage them in connecting them to their communities and the wider world and to tell tales that need to be told.

There is necessarily a fundamental connection between professional artists and communities in this process and that connection is characterised by people working together for a common good  – whether this be cultural, social or economic. It is not just about professional practitioners doing something ‘for’ or ‘to’ people; it is not just about teaching and learning new skills and it is not just about developing products and services which reflect particular issues that a community may face – although it may involve all of these things to a lesser or greater degree.

Rather, Community Arts practice emerges from the combination of social purpose, purposeful participation and production and promotion in public spaces: it is not a definable product or service which can easily be packaged up but a phenomenon which arises when a combination of people, places and politics coalesce at a particular point in time, space and history.

It is this methodology and approach we introduced to the PASCO project in 2009 and which we would suggest has been an important element of the success of the programme since then.

How did Aspire contribute to PASCO?

Aspire contributed knowledge and expertise through the following elements of the PASCO project:

Web design (Morning Movers) and Marketing workshops (October 2010)

Advice and Guidance on production of Christmas Show (December 2010)

Production of 2 short films made by PASCO participants (PASCO Film School, December 2010)

Delivery of workshops in performing arts for disabled people (December 2010)

Course design and delivery of the Autumn School, Buskerud (October 2011)

Shadow Theatre and Puppets workshops (May 2012)

Workshop on Partnership and Collaboration (November 2012)

Performing Arts workshops for UK based site specific production, Treasured (May 2012)

Cultural Exchange in Liverpool with students from FYR Macedonia (October 2012)

Furthermore, the results of other elements of the programme can also be viewed online:

Morning Movers short documentary film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky209K2JdqQ

Visit to Liverpool as part of the Treasured project:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJWiwDoSilg

Short film: Kuda Ide Ovaj Zivot (Where Is This Life Going?):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYrTC_zTbVM

Short film: The Book of Life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21HpzRJXtck

Thursday Beatbox short documentary film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuajksxYFN4

Short film: Anti-Dream Candy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WXrKYeDlxk

How did Aspire contribute to the success of  PASCO?

Aspire’s arts based methodology is based on community arts principles: arts practice which has a social purpose, uses high quality participatory techniques and is presented in a wide range of public spaces.  There are several implications of this practice for artists, teachers, practitioners and participants which we aim to address when it comes to participating or leading a project.  These are as follows.

Social purpose

Community arts practice is driven by a social agenda: this may involve attempting to address a number of social ills such as unemployment, social exclusion or cultural intolerance.  Whatever the motive, it is the social agenda that provides the ‘call to action’ for community artists, not the cultural agenda implicit in an ‘arts for arts sake’ model.

Participation

Community Arts practice depends on the ability of its practitioners to engage a wide range of people in a diverse range of settings, spaces and cultural contexts.  Frequently, they may be working with people for whom school and traditional, didactic ways of teaching and learning are not appropriate. Consequently, they need to understand that their strategies of engaging people in the creative process rely heavily on constructivist forms of learning: forms which are experiential, value the voice and experience of the participant and which are about facilitating peoples expressiveness and creativity, as opposed to instructing them.

Presentation

Without the element of presentation in community arts projects,  work becomes too process orientated and means that the audience from whom the work stemmed are unable to comment on or feedback to the artists and participants who were responsible for generating the work in the first place.  This issue is constantly referred to in debates of whether ‘process or product’ is more important in the community arts field:  our view is that both elements are equally important.  Presentation however does not have to happen in traditional platforms of the theatre or gallery; they can also take place in the housing block, the day centre or increasingly on-line via blogs, YouTube, Facebook or other social networking sites.  What is critical in this part of the work is that whatever is produced or published to the wider public has to be of the highest quality: not just its production values but with the necessary frameworks around the work which help contextualise the work to audiences who may not be  familiar with the background to a particular context.

Partnership working

We aim  to build effective partnerships between  artists, educators and participants.  By ‘partnership’ we mean the development of relationships which are based upon principles of co-constructing, co-delivering and co-assessing unique, challenging and innovative creative arts educational projects in which all participants’ voices are heard.   The principles we aim to adhere to behind effective partnership working are available on line at https://www.dropbox.com/s/na92hsteaiu2yef/effectivepships.ppt

Commitment to Professional development

We believe and are committed to delivering practice which extends and enhances teachers own  skills, expertise and approaches: if this occurs in a project, then the work has more likelihood of being sustainable in the future.   Therefore, where-ever practical, we offer  sustainable, innovative and rigorous continuing professional development  (CPD) programmes for teachers which focuses on the application of arts disciplines and techniques for the greater purpose of  pupil attainment, attendance in school and attitudes to learning. Arts practice in this context is of an instrumental nature, not an ‘arts for arts sake’ practice which values and privileges the voice of the artist over all others.

Programmes in which all partners learn from each other

PASCO programmes have not simply been a model of importing a UK skill set into a particular cultural context in Obrenovac: an essential part of the process for us has been the learning by our practitioners of other knowledges, skills and expertise which our Serbian and Norwegian colleagues have bought to us.  The process has particularly added to the richness of our experience and knowledge of Eastern Europe and this has been a vital element in the ongoing success of the project.

Programmes which challenge participants with high quality intellectual resources

Where-ever practical, we have aimed to critically challenge and support new approaches to theatrical and media production by all participants.  This entails a pedagogical approach which doesn’t just accept ‘first choice’ material when it comes to creating new work but continues to ‘raise the bar’ for participants and offer new and innovative methods of creative practice.

Offer long term relationships with partners

It has been important for us from the onset to see the PASCO project as a long term commitment by us to all the partners.  This has meant that we have been able to build on the work achieved and plan for different opportunities e.g. when funding streams come to an end.

Recast learners in new roles and identities whilst offering them new ways to articulate learner voice

This is perhaps the most critical part of the methodology we use: the need to allow other participants to redefine themselves and ‘find their voice’ in ways which have not been traditionally available to them.  This was most noticeable in the workshops run at the Disability Day Centres in Obrenovac and Belgrade in May 2011.

Future posts describe the development of the programme in Serbia and beyond and suggest possible horizons of what might happen next.

PASCO: animating communities through the creative industries (Introduction)

The PASCO (Performing Arts Scene in Obrenovac) project has had significant effects on the cultural infrastructure in the Obrenovac municipality since the project started in 2009. Due to generous support both locally, Buskerud County in Norway and the KS funding programme of the Norwegian government, PASCO has had demonstrable economic, cultural and social impact on the region as follows:

Economic impact

* Increased numbers of young people trained in the creative industries;

* Increased mobility of young people and professional practitioners across Europe;

* Increased skills of teachers in the creative industries and performing arts;

* Increased numbers of small businesses and sole traders who are working in the cultural and creative sector;

* Increased use of the facilities at the Obrenovac Culture House and a consequent increase in spending on local facilities such as restaurants, bars and clubs etc;

* Increased funding released from the municipality on culturally related programmes

* Increased funding applications to European funding sources e.g. European Collaboration Fund, Balkans Incentive Fund, Youth in Action

Social impact

* Increased activities which increase self esteem, confidence and sociability of young people attending centres for disabled people in the town;

* Increased social activities for young people both in and out of school;

* Increased interest from other municipalities in the PASCO model from neighbouring municipalities which has led to extension activities with other European partners e.g. in Grocka, Belgrade, Nis and other Serbian towns and cities.

Cultural impact

* Increased learning opportunities for young people and teachers in schools in matters relating to the creative industries e.g. film, performance, project management, fundraising;

* Increased production capacity of films, theatre productions, dance productions and visual arts exhibitions;

* Increased audience numbers at the Culture House.

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PASCO has had this impact due to several key factors:

* An economic commitment to the programme by the municipality;

* The willingness by key local organisations to support the programme e.g. schools, cultural organisations, municipality departments;

* A commitment by the Norway and UK partners to sustain the programme over a 3 year period and beyond;

* A flexibility in project delivery which is responsive to local need and requirements.

This and future posts describe how these outcomes were achieved and to assess what contribution the UK partner, the Aspire Trust, made to the project. It also aims to provide recommendations on how future urban regeneration programmes might be designed, the kind of partnership profile required of partners and the knowledges, skills and attitudes that practitioners require in order to effect the kind of changes that have been witnessed within PASCO.

The transformation witnessed in Obrenovac has not however been a one-way street; Aspire itself  benefitted significantly from participating in the programme in the following ways:

* Increased work opportunities for young practitioners working in Aspire to apply their knowledge and skills within a European context;

* Increased mobility professional practitioners across Europe;

* Increased financial turnover of the company, helping to secure its long term future;

* Increased funding from UK based organisations to assist in the long term strategic development of the company across the wider region e.g. Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Bulgaria

* Increased applications to European funding sources e.g. European Collaboration Fund, Balkans Incentive Fund, Youth in Action.

* Increased activities which engage UK practitioners with other practitioners from Serbia, Norway and other European countries, helping to locate their practice within a wider European context;

* Increased cultural partnerships established with other cultural and educational organisations in South East Europe and the Balkans e.g. FYR Macedonia, Bulgaria and Croatia.

* Increased knowledge and understanding of the history and culture of Serbia and the region as a whole.

This and future posts are intended for the benefit of teachers, academics and professional arts workers who wish to learn from the PASCO experience and adapt it for their own purposes.

We hope too that it acts as an inspiration for future graduate students who wish to animate and activate their own communities through the application of the arts and creative industries.

All Our Futures, Brazil 2013: Calling School Prinicipals, Senior School Students and Artists for a once in a life time opportunity!

All Our Futures is Aspire’s annual conference for international school principals, head teachers and senior educators and offers a unique knowledge transfer programme which encourages sharing of skills, expertise and wisdom of school leaders, head teachers and schools principals from across the worlds’ schools.

This year we are planning one of our most exciting programmes ever: a week-long programme experiencing the schools and cultural life of one of the world’s iconic cities: Rio De Janeiro in Brazil.  Produced alongside dedicated programmes for senior school students (the Chaperones programme) and artist educators (the Artists in Residence programme), All Our Futures, Brazil 2013 will be one of the most memorable educational and cultural experiences of the year.

All Our Futures: School Principals and Head teachers programme

We will show you world leading practices in inclusive education; inspiring teacher development programmes; exemplar faith schools; and thrilling international schools and extraordinary community education in some of the world’s poorest communities – all addressing, in their own way, to some of Brazil’s biggest economic, educational and social challenges.

We are delighted to be working with the following partner schools:

SESC High School http://www.escolasesc.com.br/
Colegio Cruzeiro http://www.colegiocruzeiro.com.br
A Liessin Colegio Israelita Brasileiro http://www.liessin.com.br
Colégio Notre Dame Ipanema. http://ipanema.notredame.org.br/
Escola Nova http://www.escolanova.com.br
Instituto de Aplicacao Fernando Rodrigues da Silveira CAP-UERJ
Rede de Educacao Marcelinas Rio de janeiro -Colegio Santa Marcelina

who will be introducing your to their pedagogic practices and demonstrating their approaches to inclusive education, teaching and learning, school management systems and other fields of interest. Visits will include the opportunity to meet staff, observe lessons, meet students and share knowledge and experience of schools from other countries.

Chaperones: Student Cultural Exchange Programme

Chaperones is a fantastic programme of Inter-cultural learning for young people from contrasting backgrounds to learn about each other. With its rich history, iconic architecture and radical spirit, Rio de Janeiro provides the perfect backdrop for a creative educational programme.

Chaperones offers the opportunity to provide parties of up to 24 (20 young people aged between 14 and 18 years and 4 attached teachers) to participate in a one week Cultural Heritage programme cultural centres across Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Local schools offer hospitality to young international visitors to visit their young people and teachers. Visitors also participate in a series of placements with local cultural organisations such as Afroreggae and the museums and music venues in Lapa.

Visitors will also observe, participate and contribute to both the region’s heritage and by making contacts with local artists, teachers and cultural workers, ensure that links with students home countries are extended beyond the one week initial visit.

A full social programme will be provided for visiting students and accompanying teachers. This will include visits to local theatres, dance companies, films and of course the football teams!

Artist Educator Residencies

For artists, we are offering 5 day long residencies in a varity of settings which will enable them to develop their skills, expertise and contacts in a unique and unforgettable manner. We can offer residencies for visual artists, photographers, musicians, drama workers and story tellers and dancers.

Combining All Our Programmes!

Participants from both these additional programmes will also be involved in the first and last day of the All Our Futures programme with delegates on the main educational programme. If you would like further information about either of these programmes, please get in touch.

Excursions

No visit to Rio de Janeiro would be complete without a visit to some of the worlds most memorable sites and our programme will offer you a full range of travel experiences to add to the learning and sharing that will take place.  These include:

Sugar Loaf + Corcovado

Corcovado: One of the Seven Wonders of the World. The statue of Christ the Redeemer is the largest and most famous Art Déco sculpure in the World.  It is also the most visited monument in Rio, situated at 710 meters (2,329 feet) above sea level on the top of Corcovado mountain. From there one can have a 360-degree view of the city.

Sugar Loaf  is at 396-meter (1,299 feet) high  from where you can have  panoramic views of Copacabana, Botafogo and Flamengo beaches, Rio-Niteroi bridge and Guanabara bay. Access to the Urca Hill is by cable-car. Unquestionably beautiful views. You can also experience a helicopter panoramic trip (additional costs apply).

Favelas

The Favelas in Rio are lively residential areas, where a multitude of social activities, crafts, music and commerce take place. Besides the friendliness of its inhabitants, you will also be able to appreciate from above the most beautiful views of the city. The favelas in Rio are now safe places to visit with guided tours and recommended by many visitors.

Maracanã was once the biggest football stadium in the World, and  has now been partially rebuilt in preparation for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup,  the 2014 World Cup which will be the first one held in Brazil since 1950, and also the 2016 Summer Olympics, and the 2016 Summer Paralympics.

Sambódromo is the place where the famous Rio carnival parade takes place. We will endeavour to take you to a samba pavillion too, time permitting!

Historic / Cultural Tour: options of itinerary, may include: Rio City Centre – History and Architecture; Fort and Fortress;  17th century Saint Benedict Monastery’s Church (a gem of Brazilian religion art, Barrocco-style); Santa Tereza (Rio’s Bohemian borough) amongst others.

Beaches Chill-out: enjoy the sun, and the sea. Observe the Brazilian culture of socialising and keeping fit. We will take you as many places as the group wish travel. We can organise the trip to some secluded beaches.

Boat Trip in the Guanabara Bay: the same route taken in 1500 with the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil. The beautiful city skyline can be enjoyed in all its details. A wonderful start to the day!

Best of Rio Van tour: in a single day we will be visiting: Tijuca Forest, Christ The Redeemer, Sugar Loaf, Maracanã, Sambódromo and the Metropolitan Catedral. Includes lunch at a Churrascaria (Barbecue house)  in Copacabana. A Perfect start!

Jeep Tour:  Tijuca Forest: Statue of Christ the Redeemer, climbing back into the woods. Lunch at the Meadow Grill located at the Jockey Club in Gávea! Morro da Urca and Sugar Loaf, climbing cable car. The view is thrilling! A Must See! Botanical Garden. Considered one of the most beautiful places of Rio,  housing the museum of  Tom Jobim, and  variety of flower plants.

NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

Plataforma Show: The largest and most traditional spectacle of the authentic Brazilian folklore. The show tells the story of Brazil in rhythms, melodies, songs and dances. For nearly two-hour show, a cast of graceful dancers and talented percussionists perform the cultural origins of Brazilian popular music, a result of the mix of Portuguese, Indians and Africans. The show ends in a parade in rich costumes highlighting some important characters of national history.

Lapa: an authentic Brazilian night-out in the city centre of Rio. Mingle with the Brazilians and feel the beats of live-music everywhere. All cultures in one place. We will be taking you to one the best music bars, where you can indulge in food, a variety of drinks and music.

 Our excursions are produced with our travel partner, Vie Travel

Vie Travel is engaged in promoting language, knowledge exchange and cultural immersion to overseas students and international businesses. Vie is a specialist travel company, concentrating its services on the educational and knowledge sectors. We provide packages and services specially designed to promote learning, language and culture. Our bespoke services are based on exceptional local knowledge, helping those traveling with education and learning in mind.

In addition, Vie also offers the traditional travel assistance such as sales of airline tickets, accommodation and hospitality. From 15 July 2013, language packages will be available for on-line booking.

So… what are you waiting for?!  Just drop me an email if you’d like to know more: nick@aspire-trust.org

Tips for Business Start Ups: 9 questions which will tell you whether to do it or not.

The recession in the UK is generating several bizarre phenomena, not least being the fashion to encourage many more people to start their own businesses irrespective of their abilities, wishes or state of mind.

Many reasons are wheeled out as justifications for this life changing activity: you can be your own boss, you can turn up to work any time you like, you can turn a hobby into an income generator, you can play a game of golf whenever it suits. The fact you may come off the unemployment register is also a bonus to statisticians and politicians, massaging as it does the figures on the unemployment register.

But the notion that setting up a business is a realistic and achievable option for everyone, especially if they have just completed 30 years service for the same employer is a mirage.

Setting up your business isn’t an easy option which you can blithely dive into, with keys to your new premises and golden clock in hand, which will provide you with an easy route out of employment or a bit of diversionary relief to a retirement which is becoming riddled with boredom and inertia.

There are several questions to ask yourself before taking that plunge:

1. Are you prepared to wake up every morning of every day of every week of the year, preoccupied with the challenges you will face that day – and for which you will take the ultimate rap?

2. Are you comfortable with scary levels of risk? The occasional feeling that you are standing on a precipice, not knowing where the next weeks income is going to come from or how you’re going to fend off your increasingly noisy creditors?

3. Do you have any knowledge of the stuff of the business you want to set up? If you want to set up a restaurant for example, do you know anything at all about the restaurant trade apart from knowing what your favourite pizza topping is?

4. Can you add up and / or write in coherent sentences?

5. Are you handling the transition to Internet shopping, e-commerce and social networking with aplomb?

6. If the answer to any of the above is ‘no’, are you bringing in other expertise and voices to your dream which will turn the ‘no’ into a ‘yes’?

7. Is your motivation for setting up a business explained in terms of days off, visits to golf clubs or any other type of diversionary activity?

8. Is this business opportunity you’re dreaming of a great way of getting out of the house and avoiding the imminent marriage disaster you’ve seen coming for years?

9. If the answer to questions 7 and 8 is ‘yes’; and if you answer question 6 with a ‘no’, then stop hallucinating, pack the business plan back in the attic and don’t give up the day job. You will save yourself and your nearest and dearest a whole load of heartbreak – and may even enjoy your retirement to boot.

Tips for Business Start Ups: sort out the marriage guidance issues pronto

Business start ups come in all shapes and sizes, and frequently not with one entrepreneur leading them but with two bright eyed and bushy tailed zealots expecting to change the business world over night.

Like their mono-counterparts, the entrepreneurial duo have their sights set high, their ambitions unbridled and their expectations off the scale. This is all great material to work with and has the added advantage of two forces working on the challenge that is the start up journey.

However, the problem that the entrepreneurial duo present is that as well as striving together to bring about catalytic economic transformation, they can also get in each others way.  They talk at odds with each other about what the business is actually about; they throw agonised looks at each other when one of them mentions a brand that the other one has never heard of; and they bicker and squabble and nit and pick with the best of all married couples.

For that is what they are fast becoming, these entrepreneurial duos: young marrieds who are storming over who takes out the rubbish, whose job it is to change TV channels and why one of them always seems to be worrying about the accounts. And when it comes to meeting their business mentor, the young marrieds haven’t yet learnt enough decorum to keep their underwear clean in public, their shirts tucked in and to speak with one voice: not as a monotone, but as a couple in harmony, working to each others strengths, supporting each others weaknesses and providing interesting contrapuntal harmonies to each others contributions.

If you are going into business together boys and girls, then please make sure your wedding vows are something you both agree with: articles signed up to as statements of pragmatic intent as well as of romantic delusion.

Answering the questions of your 10 year old self: 500+ Reasons to be Cheerful at All Our Futures, Rio De Janeiro, October 2013

Reasons 53 –  83: Answering the questions of your 10 year old self

We go back to school and invariably revisit our youth and think why do we do what we do?  What would we do differently?  And what would we say to ourselves if we met ourselves in the playground?

If we’re working in education, we have the added questions of what does this practice tell us, are there ideas or approaches I can adapt? What would happen if?  What might happen if not?  We might alter our practice and question our stance – quite subtly though, and not necessarily in a way which would merit the attention of head teachers, inspectors or distant academics – but which might be noticed by the young lad sat in front of you, day on day, week on week.  He might notice a slight change of emphasis in your tone; the girl next to him may notice a slight momentary doubt creep into your voice when asserting something you think you have known true for years.  She will spot your Galileo moment when all that was constant is no longer so and the certainties you had before, are no longer quite as certain.

These are all useful, productive forms of educational transformation. Frequently off the authorities’ radar, their effects bring about life changing moments for your students, about which neither you nor them will know anything of for at least 30 years.

And what would you say to yourself if you met yourself in the playground 30 years ago? “Don’t worry.”  Would be a good start; although you may not listen to yourself.

More here on how you can bring about major educational transformation in the microscopic of ways here: http://www.aspirecreativeenterprises.com/ACE/aof_rio.html

More on our travel partners here: http://www.govie.co.uk/events/

Travelling 6000 miles away to find yourself at home: 500+ Reasons to be Cheerful at All Our Futures, Rio De Janeiro, October 2013

Reasons 84 – 584: Travelling 6000 miles away to find yourself at home

The maddening thing about travelling is forgetting the answer to the question you frequently ask yourself: why do you travel so far to do what you do at home? Before long, you eventually remember that travelling has little to do with leaving, as it is with finding, home.

It’s a powerful word ‘home’ and one you realise isn’t necessarily the village, town or country you grew up in; or the school or university you attended, or where the friends you made or the family you’re part of are located. It’s a combination of possibility, atmosphere and attitude that nudges you, where-ever you are, to recognising to yourself – ah yes, this is home: this is where I am tuned into, and this is what has tuned into me.

The concept that we are walking radio antennae has been ever present this week and the visit to Escola Sesc de Ensino Médio (SESC High School) in Jacarepaguá in Rio led to that oddest sensation of coming home to somewhere I have never been before and meeting people I have never met before: and yet, for a morning at least, this amazing campus became home.

To quote from its website:

“In February 2008, SESC High School opened its doors in Rio de Janeiro to a group of young enthusiastic residents from across the country. Those were teenagers aged 13-16 years who were given the opportunity to introduce an innovative experience in Brazil’s educational scenario: top-quality fulltime residential high school education.

This pioneering project was an initiative of Antonio Oliveira Santos, president of the National Commerce Confederation for Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC) and Social Service for Commerce (SESC) National Department, who saw the building of an educational community as an opportunity to educate children within a diversified environment, preparing them for both the job market and the exercise of leadership and citizenship.

He was clearly focused on: ‘Including Brazilian youngsters in the knowledge society with an emphasis on education for life.’”

Much web-speak is often only so much promotional media spin, cluttered up with clichés, cut-and-paste-thinking and as many graphics as the designer is encouraged to get away with. But in this instance, the SESC website reflects the reality and ambitions of its students, teachers and wider communities. We are looking forward to making it home for all our All Our Future delegates later this year.

More at http://www.escolasesc.com.br/

and here:

More here too: http://www.aspirecreativeenterprises.com/ACE/aof_rio.html

More on our travel partners here: http://www.govie.co.uk/events/

Finding Faith: 500+ Reasons to be Cheerful at All Our Futures, Rio De Janeiro, October 2013

Reason 51 – 52: finding faith.

The significance of faith schools in Brazil demands you take a closer look at the very notion of faith itself than you might feel comfortable with in the confines of the familiar secular set up we have in the UK. But whether you agree with the principle of faith schools or not, there’s no getting away from it: education demands that the educator starts from a position of faith in the first place.

Whether this be the acts of faith that presupposes that young people will benefit from the actions of well meaning adults; that the teaching of knowledge, skills and wisdom can be learnt in a predictable way within the confines of a regulated and structured system of activities; or the belief that education has to be a force for the greater good all the time: these are all acts of faith that we as educators subscribe to in any educational venture.

We feel this regularly and intensely on the first day of any course or intake of new students: the day is marked with a surge of optimism, of possibility and of great things about to be achieved. Without these faith symbols, the actions of the educator are merely empty vessels of meaning; habits devoid of substance, intent or purpose.

And Brazil – with its social, economic and ecological challenges – is arguably one of the best places in the world to come and see how faith in education is being played out in the streets, the favelas and the mountains.

We’re especially looking forward to working with Colegio Santa Marcelina in October and seeing how they marry their world of faith, the world of the streets in their educational acts of faith. More at http://www.marcelinas.com.br/riodejaneiro/index.asp

More here too: http://www.aspirecreativeenterprises.com/ACE/aof_rio.html

More on our travel partners here: http://www.govie.co.uk/events/