Aswatna: Finding our voice
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Aswatna: Finding our voice 〰️
Welcome to the Aswatna portal!
Educating for Inclusion
This is our attempt to showcase the work all of our Aswatna participants and collaborators have put into the program since it was first launched in 2021. Aswatna is a pilot project which was developed to respond to the need identified in the community for more inclusive, student-centric educational spaces that foster critical thinking skills and socio-emotional learning in Kuwait. We kicked off with a curriculum co-design phase, followed by a Training of Trainers, three rounds of youth trainings with students of different ages and backgrounds, and the development of student-led participatory action projects. These in turn fed our Aswatna Ideathon and the development of pilot initiatives to be implemented in local schools. On this portal you will find more information about our process and learnings, as well as the amazing data that was collected by our participants.
Our data
Interested in learning more about how we could build youth agency, develop more responsive and participatory programs, or create more inclusive spaces? Check out our recommendations and toolkits for youth leaders, educators, administrators and anyone else willing to do the work!
68
Students who completed the training
22
Schools represented
88
Issues identified by students during PAR module
62
Number of Ideathon participants
1,203
Number of people interviewed / surveyed through PAR projects
Our journey
Over a two year period from December 2021 - December 2023 we took Aswatna participants on an epic journey that would equip them with skills, knowledge and experiences that will stay with them for years to come.
Design phase: Gathering input from our various stakeholders and co-designing training curriculum with researchers and academics from across disciplines and education systems.
Training of Trainers: Ten trainers across a variety of cultural backgrounds and disciplines were selected to undergo an intensive period of training on all five modules of the Aswatna program in December 2021. They then went on to lead the youth trainings in the next phase, in both English and Arabic.
Aswatna Training Phase: 68 students from local high schools and universities were divided across three cohorts and received training on the topics of: self & critical/systems thinking; equity and human rights; culture and communication; storytelling for change, and participatory action research (PAR).
PAR Phase: After wrapping up their training, participants developed and conducted PAR projects to gain a better understanding of the issues they had identified within their schools and communities
Aswatna Ideathon: A three-day intensive workshop where participants and other stakeholders in the field of education (CSOs, educators, admins, parents) were divided into teams and co-designed pilot initiatives to address the issues identified during the PAR process.
Pilot Implementation: Over the following 9 months, 3 projects that were selected for further funding and support created prototypes and launched their platforms in their communities.
Aswatna Conference: Following implementation of the pilots, we brought everyone back together to reflect on the entire process and gather insights as we develop the next phase of Aswatna!
Aswatna & Participatory Action Research (PAR)
This two year program kicked off with three rounds of five-week immersive training courses, which took place between January and September. Participants were trained in Critical & Systems Thinking, Equity & Human Rights, Cross-Cultural Communication, Storytelling, and Participatory Action Research (PAR).
Throughout the training, participants identified issues that moved them, and then developed participatory research projects to better understand how others in the community, and in particular their peers, relate to them.
The ideathon generating ideas for the future
Through their participatory research projects, our participants collected data and insights from their peers and other stakeholders on the issues they wanted to tackle in their schools. This research was also used as the foundation for our Aswatna Ideathon, which took place in December 2022 and brought our participants back together with other youth, activists, educators and administrators, to collectively design innovative pilot projects based on their findings and experiences. Over the course of three days, participants worked together to design online and offline platforms that would address issues related to mental health, discrimination, student voice in school governance, visibility, accessibility and diversity, among many others!
anonym(us)
anonym(us) provides a safe space for high school and university students to share their stories of vulnerability, connect to a supportive community, empathize with different experiences, and express themselves creatively.
Coming soon!
The nudge club
The Nudge Club aims to create a safe space for students and teachers to interact and bond outside the hierarchical classroom space.
Coming soon!
Sidra
Sidra is a collection of diverse cultures and identities that can be experienced through a memory map and a game by students across education systems.
Coming soon!
Tools and resources
Here you will find more details about how and why Aswatna came into existence, an analysis of the demographics of each cohort and the issues they identified, as well as lessons learned from our major stakeholders—the en.v team, trainers, and of course the participants. We close with recommendations for schools, students, organizers, and other stakeholders who may want to adopt Aswatna into their own spaces.