On Afrocats' Youth Of The World programme, we love nothing more than
seeing our culturally and neurodiverse young people getting stuck in and
unleashing their creative potential together.
And this week, they had the chance to learn about and make some woven
baskets - African style!
African basket-weaving goes back to ancient times, and these baskets served a
practical purpose. For example, they were used for transporting crops, and
storage for food and spices, as well as looking lovely of course.
Many of our young people and participants have or know somebody with
African heritage, and this was a fantastic opportunity to delve into a time-
honoured traditional art form that everyone can appreciate, using inexpensive
materials like paper, wool, Sellotape and scissors.
And expert art facilitator Nayna was on hand to help when anyone got stuck or
needed inspiration - even bringing along her own woven baskets brought all
the way from her travels in Africa, including Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Our young people have backgrounds from all over the world: from Iran to
Ghana, from the Philippines to Nigeria and beyond - and in a world where so
many borders and boundaries exist, it’s amazing to see them unite in exploring
their own or another’s cultural artistic heritage. Some great reasons to explore your cultural heritage are:
You can understand where you come from and your family’s geographical context
You can find out how society and civilisations have evolved
You can examine your country and family’s history and traditions, and keep them alive for future generations
For those that finished weaving, there was also time to make a dainty straw
corn dolly, which definitely got some of our fingers in a twist.
And after a free healthy fruit snack, everyone burned off some late afternoon
energy with a game of SPLAT! - finishing the session on a giggle.
Thanks as always to our brilliant Youth Of The World – we look forward to
welcoming you to the session next time!
If you’d like more information about our Youth Of The World programme,
click here.
And take a peep at our social media channels below for the latest news and
updates.