Artpreneurs for Change is committed to fostering empathy and transcending socioeconomic and cultural differences through art

Problem

Post 9-11, citizens of both Pakistan and the US view each other with increasing paranoia, mistrust and resentment. The lack of empathy or the ability to feel the emotions and narrative of the ‘other’ is being embedded into the psyche of youth/children in both societies. Socio-economic and class differences within Pakistan/US have also triggered feelings of bitterness amongst the ‘inner-city’ lower-middle class for their affluent, in-country peers. If humanity is to live and thrive in a harmonious, interconnected world, it is imperative that we inculcate empathy as a core value from an early age within each society and across societies/cultures/civilizations.

Solution

NAYA JEEVAN aims to launch a bilateral (US-Pakistan) initiative that engages youth/children through the celebration of each other’s indigenous art, music and cultural heritage. According to SZALAVITZ , 2010 Nearly 90% of brain growth takes place in the first five years of life, and the minds of young children who have been neglected or traumatized often fail to make the connection between people and pleasure. Based upon this premise, NAYA JEEVAN is going to launch a primary school Child-to-Child Program which brings children from different cultures and socio-economic strata together in the co-creation of Art & Music. This profound cross-cultural immersion will leverage multimedia digital technology.

Exemple

NAYA JEEVAN will launch this initiative in Karachi and Washington DC. The main activities of this initiative include: • Setting up clusters of children (approximately 5 children in each cluster) In Karachi each group will be a mix of students from institutes for children with special needs (e.g. Ida Rieu, ACELP), SMB Fatimah Jinnah (NGO Schools) and Bayview School (an affluent, private school). In Washington DC, the children will be brought together from member schools of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and National Association for independent schools. The objective here is bring together children from different socio-economic strata and different countries/cultures and engage them in bridge-building activities that they can all enjoy and fully participate in. The sessions will be conducted independently in both Karachi and Washington DC. Sessions in Karachi will be guided/facilitated by trained art therapists and child psychologists/educators. The objective of these sessions is to co-create art and empower children to express themselves through art. Once a week there will be virtual sessions attended by both groups which will be technology-enabled, facilitated, and embedded with an art curriculum.

Marché

At the moment, there are very few initiatives in Pakistan which transcend cultural and socioeconomic boundaries and bring together children from diverse backgrounds. Similarly, in the US, there is almost no contact between American school children and their Pakistani counterparts. Children and their parent's opinions are often framed through the distorted lens of an agenda-driven, ratings-seeking media. Most of the current international initiatives are ad-hoc, lack programmatic structure and longevity and almost always involve brief, periodic, physical interaction – something which is not sustainable or scalable to the masses.