Hands for a Bridge students emerge as transformed global citizens with vision and resources to affect vital change in our world. Through intensive artistic dialogue and collaboration, high school youth in South Africa, Northern Ireland, and the U.S. explore issues of social justice in their local, regional and international communities.
Students need multicultural experiences to become global citizens who will create vital change. Isolation makes them dependent on media stereotypes that reinforce cultural biases. In South Africa, though Apartheid has ended, schools and communities are separated by race and privilege. Similarly, the USA has abandoned desegregation. In Northern Ireland, the "Troubles" have recently passed, but few public schools integrate Catholics and Protestants.
Hands for a Bridge is a high school class in the US and it's an exceptional extracurricular activity in two high schools in South Africa and two in Northern Ireland. Students bridge cultural, class and economic divides by coming together as scholars, artists, teachers, activists and friends. Work focuses on social justice, conflict and activism. Students communicate electronically, travel locally to interact with divided communities and participate in international exchanges and homestays.
Our program transforms students into global citizens and leaders with vision and resources to affect vital change in our world. Students are inspired to become activists and give back to their community. "We did not just want to discuss possible changes that could be made, but actually implement them."
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
Hands for a Bridge interim website
Hands for a Bridge wins World Educator Award 2012
News article about HFB's World Educator Award