BEST PRACTICES: Experience sharing on best activities 1-KIDS SUMMER CAMP each year during holidays (a flagship program) 2-MAKER ACTIVITY –Makey Makey for learning piano/ a lesson from recent training in Vienna 3- LUNCH SHARING with volunteers, community and NGOs leaders and few faithful patrons

1-THE KIDS SUMMER CAMP EACH YEAR DURING HOLIDAYS July or Aug. (a flagship program)

Program Presentation/Camp Objective The Kids Summer Camp known as OXYKIDS (OXYgen for KIDS) is a program conducted by AC Tiassalé (on behalf of/and thanks to the US Embassy PAS) that gathered 30 kids (age range 9-12 years old) and aiming at helping kids build capacities, develop cross-cultural, social and solidarity values, learn about the American culture through various activities, program lasts one month during holidays but it covers 21 open days. Nota bene: next camp in this FY2017 (July or August) will be the 5th edition.

Activities of the camp English courses for beginners Introduction to Computing Manual activities Sport session (Introduction to an American sports, clinic guided by PAS staff and US marines) HIV/Aids workshops Children’s rights workshops Movie Showings on the American culture Visit (US Embassy for having a common program guided by IRC)

Program unfolding During 21 opened days kids benefitted from AC’s staff and volunteers English sessions for beginners, introduction to computing, visual Arts and drawing courses, HIV/Aids sensitization sessions, Children’s Rights workshops (teaching children their rights and some social values), projections of educative movies such as “Families of USA”, “Akila and the bee”, “Kikool”. Kids also discovered and learned American football and sports clinic session is very often conducted by CAO and CAA, with support of US Marines and staff of the Embassy on an indicated date during camp

(Continued)The camp ended with a closing ceremony (Continued)The camp ended with a closing ceremony. During closing ceremony campers present a public show, a brief presentation made by kids themselves on what they’ve been taught all along that period in presence of local authorities and their parents. In fact, kids practice in pairs dialogs learned in English, greetings, the alphabet, days of the week and months of the year, colors and shapes, songs, poems, numbers and counting, designated school objects, indicated parts of the body, showed different sketches on Children Rights and HIV sensitizations/awareness on the disease, showed paintings they designed themselves (that is a making activity), performed in dance, etc.

Courses: English classes for beginners, Children’s rights workshop, visual arts...

HIV AIDS SENSITIZATION IN DOWNTOWN TIASSALE

Sports clinic with staff of Embassy and Marines

Sports clinic with staff of Embassy and Marines

Parade for Promoting camp activities during National Independence Day Aug.7th

2-MAKER ACTIVITY –MAKEY MAKEY for learning piano/ a lesson from recent training in Vienna What is Makey Makey? Makey Makey: is an invention Kit for Everyone, it is an electronic invention tool and toy that allows users to connect everyday objects to computer programs. Using a circuit board, alligator clips, and a USB cable, the toy uses closed loop electrical signals to send the computer either a keyboard stroke or mouse click signal. This function allows the Makey Makey to work with any computer program or webpage since all computer programs and webpages take keyboard and mouse click inputs.

INSPIRATION FROM IIP TRAINING PY351 Back from recent training, I have been thinking for an activity using Makey Makey, how to initiate a program in order to help and teach preliminary lessons of piano with kids of elementary schools. The program was monitored by myself and Bakayoko Ezechiel who’s a young volunteer/musician of the God Assembly Churh of Tiassalé. The activity covered 4 sessions of one hour per session over one month (in November 2016). It was a success as we trained 10 young patrons using the keyboard of the computer as the piano.

This music program can be used to teach the basics of music for all instruments and particularly the piano: for beginning notes (do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do) even if practice is not so profound. So participants were able to create their own musical melodies and this has been very useful.

Content of the Makey Makey box, objects you need

WHAT DOES IT LOOKS LIKE?

WHAT DOES IT LOOKS LIKE?

3- LUNCH SHARING WITH VOLUNTEERS, COMMUNITY AND NGOs LEADERS AND FEW FAITHFUL PATRONS/giving them promotional items (encouraging their support and effort in our programming)

Background/context Modern American Spaces are dynamic physical platforms that support meaningful engagement with foreign audiences in support of U.S. foreign policy goals. In order to offer a broad range of programs for target audiences, many American Spaces rely on the help of volunteers, interns and NGOs to initiate, facilitate, and support programs. We need necessary to be grateful for their contribution and show them our kindness.

The idea of sharing a lunch It was a proposal of mini party of sharing meals and soft drinks intending to engage as much volunteers (especially chairmen of NGO’s, local community leaders, members of local red cross) to assist American Corner and for recruiting more volunteers, motivating, recognizing their effort in my Space. I distributed promotional t-shirts and pens. We did it and for one time the Corner was grateful and paid tribute for their dynamism.

TIASSALE BEST PRACTICES END THANK YOU! Konankan Fernand