by Author SophieMcKechnie

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PALAVA: key learnings from a project perspective

Reflections on what went well, things we learnt, and things to develop

PALAVA is a collaborative youth music project centred around weekly lyric writing, radio production and recording sessions, alongside live performances co-created with participants. We have worked with 50 young people over the last year, who have created more than 100 recorded tracks and radio shows and staged three performances as a group.

It’s been a privilege to oversee the delivery of Palava and work with delivery partners and young people to create such a powerful project in the last year. As a result of the funding from Youth Music we were able to test a collaborative delivery model , demonstrate our impact, and secure funding from a local trust to expand the project next year. Below are some of the key reflections of what approaches worked well, areas of improvement and opportunities for development.

You can watch a short video about Palava here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU6CjkntJPE

Things that have gone well:

  • Engagement: effective use of music as an engagement tool for at risk young people and a medium to address underlying issues affecting participant
  • A local approach:  local music leaders and youth workers who have a thorough understanding of the area and young people’s needs
  • Meeting young people where they are, at times when they need us: sessions in the evenings, in accessible spaces
  • ‘Nothing about us without us’: young people co-creating the project; from promotional materials to the design of showcases
  • Volunteering: regular volunteers at sessions, sharing industry expertise and going above and beyond to support delivery
  • Promotion: marketing and branding that appeals to young people, using live shows to recruit and connections of facilitators to encourage ‘word of mouth’

Things we've learnt:

  • Project management: coordinating all facilitators and putting on live shows is time consuming and needs more dedicated resource to develop the potential of the project

  • Radio Strand: engaging local and at risk young people in radio/podcast production and retaining their interest was more challenging than on the lyric writing and recording strands of the project 

Opportunities:

  • Providing stronger progression routes: the project engages young people in well-structured, high quality educational activity and supports participants to progress towards their personal goals. Introducing formal progression routes to the project would build on this foundation ( more accreditation and employment/training opportunities.)

  • Diversifying partners and targeting outreach: there is an opportunity to link PALAVA to an outreach/detached youth work programme on key housing estates. There is also potential to develop relationships with referring partners (eg. youth offending teams, youth clubs, pupil referral units) and with local social enterprises and businesses to offer formal progression routes.

  • Tackling youth violence: the focus of more recent PALAVA sessions have demonstrated that the programme has great potential to engage young people involved in youth violence and crime.

  • Raising Profile: the project has attracted support from a range of high-profile individuals and organisations, including Ellie Goulding’s co-writer, Joanna Lumley and Pop Brixton. It has potential to further tap into networks in the music industry, produce successful live shows, and secure press coverage.