Our Approach.

Our approach is built around two pillars: young people’s behaviour and a youth-friendly society.

Dance4Life Barbados works in secondary schools, reaching young people between the ages of 12 and 18 years old. Our program also reaches the most vulnerable groups, including out-of-school youth, residents of the adolescent children’s homes, as well as young people in juvenile detention centres (the Government Industrial Schools). To create behavioural change, we use a four-step concept founded on the evidence of our work in the last 11 years and our philosophy that peer-to-peer communication is the best way to connect with young people. 

  • Inspire.

    We meet students with fun activities that build trust and create a warm and open-minded environment in which everyone can feel comfortable while engaging with our programming. We call this our Heart Connection Tour.

  • Educate.

    During skills4life, we deliver our Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) curriculum and cover topics such as drivers of risky behaviors (such as self-esteem and self-awareness), reproduction, substance use, gender inequality, bullying, leadership, and empowerment. In an effort to create global citizens and to avoid building up vertical programmes, target areas also include non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and climate change.

  • Activate.

    In our act4life component, we support and organise students in undertaking a community give-back activity or project. This generates a sense of agency within students by participating in communal efforts to better their surroundings

  • Celebrate.

    We complete our programming by inviting all students to our Big Event. This includes games, popular entertainers, and prizes to be one. We also invite other local NGOs and initiatives to be present with information booths in order to amplify students’ awareness and engagement with other positive and constructive entities.

We aim to make our programme as effective as possible, in the following ways: 

Keep the Barbadian dynamic in mind

Using an evidence based approach, the content of our four-step concept is tailored to meet individual youth realities.

Advocate for the rights of young people

Focusing on young people’s behavior alone is not enough. Without a supportive environment, change simply won’t last. That’s why we advocate for the rights of young people, in their direct environment and at the regional, national and international level. Our aim is that the voices and realities of young people are better reflected in policies.

Measure the impact

We are continually working to better understand the specific factors that can prevent risky behaviours and promote safe choices. We measure the impact of these approaches to build even stronger connections with young people and make our programs as effective as possible.