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Skills4life

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The next part of schools4life is skills4life, which is an in-depth life skills or sexuality education programme. It takes place in schools and youth centres for some of the young people who have already participated in the heart connection tour.

Skills4life deals with what is called 'Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights'. It basically offers information about a range of topics, and teaches skills that young people can use in their daily lives.

Some of the topics covered are:

(physical and social) changes during puberty
sexuality
HIV and AIDS
choice based prevention (providing the options to make an informed choice about how to protect yourself)
drug abuse and HIV
global awareness of HIV and AIDS

Some of the skills that are learnt include:

negotiation
decision making
communication
entrepreneurial skills
youth empowerment

The heart connection tour

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The heart connection tour is the first activity within schools4life. Each dance4life country has a tour team who travel to schools giving a fun and interactive dance4life experience to young people. It is the introduction to dance4life for most of them, and is high-energy, informative and connects to young people. In 2008 over 300,000 youth in at least 20 countries will take part in it.

The tour team is made up of:
Peer educators - young people who are trained to talk about and inform other young people in their own language about HIV and AIDS and sexual health.
Dancers, drummers and performers - they bring this experience to life, and help teach the drill.
Young person living with HIV (or in some cases someone who has been affected by HIV) - who talks about their experience of living with HIV, how it affects those around them, and how they are treated by society.

There is also the organisational team - a group of students and teachers from the school who are involved in and represent dance4life. They help out with the heart connection tour and the other activities.

An average of 150 young people take part in it, and learn the drill, watch videos about HIV and AIDS, listen to the person living with HIV talking about their experience, and discuss and ask questions. Once they've experienced the heart connection tour, they get the chance to do act4life and some go on to skills4life.

Act4life

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Act4life is when those participating in schools4life really get actively involved in pushing back HIV and AIDS. There are three main activities that they get involved in:

HIV awareness raising (telling your family and friends about HIV and AIDS and how to take responsibility)
fundraising (sponsored events, fundraisers like sports competitions, dances). All funds raised by act4life go to HIV prevention projects, usually in the Global South.
advocacy (using your voice - letting political leaders know that you expect them to keep the promises they made in the MDGs)
or anything else to push back HIV (in Mexico one group of young people discovered that there were no free condoms available in the local health clinic, so they are campaigning for the situation to be changed).

The young people organise their own actions and become really involved in dance4life and the cause.

Photos of the Dance4Life Schools Project 2006

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Train late after the Event? Then perform the Drill on the platform!

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The students from Fearnhill school who were at the BIG event in the UK travelled to and from the event by train. After the event there were some delays on their line and they ended up having to wait for 50 minutes on a very crowded Finsbury Park Station. The students then took it upon themselves to entertain the waiting passengers for 30 minutes by demonstrating the Dance4Life Drill and informing the general public about the campaign and their involvement in it. Everyone else waiting for the train ended up clapping and cheering and shouting "Life" at the appropriate moment!

New Dance4Life Quiz!

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Do you want to win a Dance4Life goodie bag? Then click here, and send us the answers to 15 questions, and create your own Dance4Life slogan before 5th January, and you have the chance of winning! Test your knowledge to the max!

Dance4Life Germany raising funds for children and women living with HIV

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The youth participating in the Schools Projects in Germany are raising money, and have been inspired by Royston Maldoom, the choreographer who is training some of them for the Dance4Life Event, to donate some of the money to a cause close to his heart - women living with HIV in North Ethiopia, who he has worked with. The rest of the money is going to Odessa, a project for street children in dire circumstances, two thirds of whom are living with HIV.

Students in Nigeria queue to take part in Schools Project

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

As the Dance4Life Schools Project in Nigeria kicked off, a long line of students formed outside the classroom, looking in to see what was going on. While the students inside were working up a sweat practising the drill, those outside held their own open-air training session. More on Dance4Life Nigeria here...

Dance4Life Tanzania drumming up the Schools Project!

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Dance4Life Tanzania is busy with the Schools Project, and has just been to a school with 150 youth and they took with them lots of drummers! Want to know more about Dance4Life Tanzania?

Dance4Life Germany youth learn from a professional!

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Royston Maldoom, the famous choreographer, has started rehearsals in Bremen, Germany, with Dance4Life youth, who are going to perform the piece at the Dance4Life Event.

Total Act4Life The Netherlands so far: � 425,000

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Act4Life in the Netherlands is going extremely well, with over ��425,000 having been raised already. Not only that but they held�a rap and dance contest on their website which has had up to 50,000 hits a day!

Dance4Life South Africa members spread the word!

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The two members of Dance4Life South Africa who took part in the Schools Project in The Netherlands are back home and are spreading the word about Dance4Life! Here they are at Lotus FM, one of Dance4Life South Africa's partners, where they were live on the radio.

What's the Dance4Life Dance Event going to be like? Watch this!!

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Dance4Life Netherlands has made a digital invitation publicising the Dance Event at the Gelredome, where 15,000 people are expected! Remember, only those who have taken part in the Schools Projects can go to the event in their country. To get an idea of�how amazing�it's going to be, click here.

Dance4Life goes down a storm in the UK!

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The response to the Schools Project in the UK has been FAB! One teacher wrote, "there is a real buzz in school and the kids involved are full of it" and another said "it was simply an amazing experience!" A student commented that everyone was "buzzing from the Dance4Life session!" Click here to read everything they said.

Act4Life goes crazy!

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Dutch students are�outdoing themselves thinking up creative, innovative, crazy actions to raise money for Dance4Life. One of the more outragious actions is a special Dance4Life auction: In one of the participating school, students can bid on their teacher to be their slave for a day... Imagine the possibilities!

Nicas: �Sometimes I really felt like a superstar!�

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Nicas Ngumba is back in Tanzania, after spending six weeks in The Netherlands. He is full of impressions and stories. And no wonder, after such a long period in a country that is completely different from your own. And imagine: Nicas had never travelled abroad before!
Read more about Nicas' adventures here...

National TV coverage as Schools Project Vietnam begins

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The Schools Project has begun in Vietnam with 100 children attending, but they weren't the only ones! VTV1, the most watched national TV station, were filming and showed a report on the 7pm News with interviews, part of the moodclip and the Schools Project.

Dance4Life Ireland now on Bebo

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Dance4Life Ireland has set up a Bebo page, as requested by the kids during the Schools Projects. Click here to go to the page and become a Friend!

Schools Project begins in Vietnam with national tv coverage

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The Dance4Life South Africa Ambassadors who took part in the Schools Projects in the Netherlands are welcomed home

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The members of Dance4Life South Africa who were part of the Tour Team in the Netherlands are welcomed home by the Mayor of Pietermaritzburg/Umsunduzi, Zanele Hlatshwayo. Nontobeko and Zipporah had shared their experiences of HIV/AIDS in South Africa with the Dutch school children. They then went to be interviewed on Radio Gagasi.

Exciting line-up for UK Dance Event

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

With big names like Tim Westwood and Dynamite MC, the UK Dance4Life closing event of the Schools Project on 25 November is taking shape. At the CC Club in London, young people from 25 schools all over the UK will dance in sync with students from all over the world. The Schools Tour UK will start on 30 October. Check here for more news!

Dance and Rap Contest in The Netherlands

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

After an extremely successful Schools Tour in The Netherlands, during which more than 70,000 Euros was raised, students of the 50 participating schools have now entered the last stage of the Schools Project. Through the specially developed 'Lessons4Life' course material, they deepen their involvement while learning more about HIV/AIDS, both in the Netherlands and worldwide.

Meanwhile, they're invited to join the dance and rap competition: the best dancers and rappers will be performing alongside mega-stars before an audience of 15,000 during the Dance4Life Schools Project Dance Event! More (in Dutch) here and here, or check the Netherlands page in English.

Tanzania Trainers develop role-play

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

In preparation of the Schools Project, three 'Tour Teams' were trained by Dance4Life partner Red Zebra in order to prepare them for visiting the schools, mobilising students to get involved in Dance4Life. The teams are trained to use music, drums, dance and other ways to get students involved and to get information across.

The Tour Team, consisting of musicians, students, people living with HIV-AIDS and young, so-called 'peer-educators', will usually watch a video which gives information about Dance4Life. In Tanzania, however, the video equipment failed to work properly. Challenged to use their creativity, the trainers resorted to role-playing, which worked so well that it's now being considered for use in other countries as well! More on Tanzania here.

Twelve schools Dance4Life in Germany

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The Schools Projects are in full swing in Germany in a total of twelve schools and youth clubs. They comprise of the Drill practice, dance and movement workshops, percussion groups, making of art objects, talks and discussions. Fab fundraising at the schools have also started, with students drinking one can of drink less per week or sending three less sms�s per week! There are also big plans for the dance event on 25th November. To read more about what's going on in Germany, click here.

How does a Dance4Life Schools Project work? What's happening in your country?

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

To give you an idea of the energy, inspiration and incredible teamwork involved, we reported here in 2006 on what happened in the Schools Projects. If you have participated in the Schools Projects, why not email us and tell us about it?!

Ireland has started their School Tours, beginning in Cork.

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Ireland has started their School Tours, beginning in Cork. The response to the two hour long workshops in the schools has been brilliant, with the students being really enthusiastic. One of them, Emma, emailed the tour team later and wrote: �Friday's class was just hilarious!!! It was good fun and really different.�.
More on Ireland here.

What dance4life does in schools!

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The heart of dance4life is schools4life. Schools4life gives young people the opportunity to make a difference in their own lives and world. It teaches them the important life skills they need to protect themselves but more than this, it inspires them to go out there and actually do something about it, to become actively involved � an agent of change.

An agent of change is a young person who takes part in the first three activities of schools4life.

Schools4life is made up of four parts:

Firstly we kick off with the heart connection tour. This is where each school is visited by the dance4life tour team � which is no ordinary team, we're talking dancers, musicians, peer educators and young people living with HIV. The heart connection tour is a fun, interactive experience that educates the young people and gets them energised and excited about taking responsibility.

Next they have the opportunity to learn how to take responsibility by taking part in skills4life. This is an in-depth programme where they learn more about HIV including: prevention, sexuality, drug abuse, and their rights. They also pick up valuable skills about negotiation (No means No), communication and decision making, which they can apply to their daily lives.

Once they're fired up they're ready for the third part: act4life. As the name suggests this is all about taking action. Which could mean anything from becoming a volunteer, fund raising or simply spreading awareness.

The grand finale of schools4life is the worldwide dance4life event - every two years on the Saturday before World AIDS Day - 27 November 2010! Only agents of change (who have taken part in schools4life) are invited and are given the opportunity to use their voice and feet. United by one cause and connected live via satellite, they dance together for life. They dance to inspire the world to support them and they dance to remind the world leaders of the promises they made regarding the Millennium Development Goals..

Schools Projects 2006

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

As World AIDS Day is approaching fast, Dance4Life Schools Projects are kicking off all over the world. How do the Schools Projects work? What are they, exactly?
To give you an idea of the energy, inspiration and incredible teamwork involved, we will report here weekly on what's happening in the Schools Project of one of the participating countries.

November 2006:Ireland
Ireland has started their School Tours, beginning in Cork. The response to the two hour long workshops in the schools has been brilliant, with the students being really enthusiastic. One of them, Emma, emailed the tour team later and wrote: �Friday's class was just hilarious!!! It was good fun and really different. I think we could have spent more time at it though because there were a few parts of the dance that people were still uncomfortable with! A live band at the event would be sooooooooooooo cool!!!!!�.
For more information, click here.

November 2006: Germany
The Schools Projects are in full swing in Germany in a total of twelve schools and youth clubs. They comprise of the Drill practice, dance and movement workshops, percussion groups, making of art objects, talks and discussions. Fab fundraising at the schools have also started, with students drinking one can of drink less per week or sending three less sms�s per week! There are also big plans for the dance event on 25th November, to read more about what's going on in Germany, click here.

July 2006: Tanzania
In preparation of the Schools Project, three 'Tour Teams' were trained by Dance4Life partner Red Zebra in order to prepare them for visiting the schools, mobilising students to get involved in Dance4Life. The teams are trained to use music, drums, dance and other ways to get students involved and to get information across.

The Tour Team, consisting of musicians, students, people living with HIV-AIDS and young, so-called 'peer-educators', will usually watch a video which gives information about Dance4Life.

In Tanzania, however, the video equipment failed to work properly. Challenged to use their creativity, the trainers resorted to role-playing, which worked so well that it's now being considered for use in other countries as well!

Dance event

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The climax to schools4life is the dance4life event on the Saturday before World AIDS Day. Only agents of change (those who have participated in at least two of the first three schools4life activities) are invited.

The event in 2010 will be on 27th November in all dance4life countries. Agents of change will be dancing 4 life along with ambassadors, bands, singers, dancers on stage who will be performing.

The highlight of the event is the live connection, when as many of the events are linked via satellite - as there are five continents involved there are lots of time zones!

United by one cause and connected live via satellite, the agents of change dance together 4 life. They dance to inspire the world to support them and they dance to remind the world leaders of the promises they made regarding the Millennium Development Goals.

Fundraising

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Dance4Life is not about passively listening to a teacher telling you what to do. We need you to go out and act! And by act we mean not only involving others but also raising money. The money raised by young people during the Schools Project will go to Dance4Life supported projects in the countries most affected by HIV/AIDS.

In 2004 and in 2006 tens of thousands of pupils from several fo the Dance4Life countries raised money through their own actions. Auctions at school, dance performances, body painting competitions, markets with second hand clothes - these are only some of the examples. All of it more than worth the effort!

Money was also raised through Act4Life, which are actions that anyone, any business, any group can organise and participate in to raise money for the Dance4Life Schools Projects in the Global South.

The drill

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

The drill is the dance4life dance which anyone can learn. It is taught during the heart connection tour, and during the live connection at the event, all the young people dance the drill at the same time around the world, and see each other doing so on the big screens.

The clip

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The drill

HIV and AIDS we can beat it
Take re-spon-si-bi-li-ty

People have a right to a life of
Love & health & harmony

HIV and AIDS we can beat it
Take re-spon-si-bi-li-ty

To-gether we cre-ate a fu-ture
World of pos-si-bil-ity

HIV and AIDS we can beat it
Take re-spon-si-bi-li-ty

I can
You can
Together we can all
BEAT IT!

The yell

Take re-spon-si-bi-lity 4life
let your voice B heard

Dance4Life School project

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

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Kant en Klaar

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Schools

Dance4Life — 1970-01-01T00:00:00+01:00

Joining the Dance4Life Schools Project is fun as well as informative! Tour teams come to your school to inform you, to involve you and to urge you onto action. You will raise money for HIV/AIDS projects and raise awareness amongst your peers. The rewarding finale of the project is the mega Dance Event on the Saturday before World AIDS day; dancing for life with over a hundred thousand young people all over the world.

At least eight countries will participate this year, so there are currently as many Schools Projects. Every country has a slightly different approach, but the goal is the same everywhere: challenging you to become leaders instead of targets. Sharing knowledge and (re)act.

Dance4Life will inform you, not by books or dull preaching, but by sharing stories and with tools such as drumming, music, video, and, of course, dancing. Interactive Life Skills lessons, fundraising activities and the Dance4Life drill are the three main elements. At the end of all this, the rewarding climax for these school activities is the big Dance Event.

Fundraising

Lessons are important, but being able to use your fresh knowledge is even better! The Dance4Life Schools Project inspires you to involve others, to communicate your version to your family and friends, convincing them to donate money or simply to create more personalised awareness on the subject. You'll get an exclusive ticket to the �coolest dance event ever�, with national and international famous artists. More!

The Dance4Life Drill

You and your fellow students learn a rap about HIV and AIDS, accompanied by a drill-like dance: The Dance4Life Drill. At the major Dance Event the drill is performed simultaneously, dressed in white, at all Dance4Life events around the world. You will be able to see others dancing with you, all over the world, by internet and satelite TV. It�s pure empowerment by a very positive experience, which will also attract media, politicians and many others. More!