Enabling Leadership is a pioneering global non-profit organization dedicated to equipping children from underserved backgrounds with vital Life and Leadership skills. Through innovative programs that utilize music (EL-Create), football (EL-Play), and Lego-type building blocks (EL-Build), the organization reaches over 10,000 children between the ages of 9-15 across 7 cities and 45 villages in India, Cambodia, Singapore, and Kenya, helping them break free from the cycle of poverty and grow into responsible adults. Since its inception in 2013, Enabling Leadership has impacted over 50,000 lives, advocating for holistic education that empowers children, especially girls, to become tomorrow’s leaders and global citizens. One of its standout initiatives is Kidz4kidz, a platform that engages high-school students from privileged backgrounds in a unique Youth Leadership Development program, culminating in a concert that raises awareness and funds for disadvantaged peers enrolled in EL programs. This case study delves into the success of Kidz4kidz, exploring its implementation, challenges, and impact, and highlights the future directions for Enabling Leadership’s efforts to bridge educational equity.
CASE STUDY
A Symphony of Change: The Initiative
Kidz4kidz is a global platform by Enabling Leadership that engages high-school students from privileged backgrounds around the world in a unique Youth Leadership Development program. One aspect of the platform is the Kidz4kidz concert, where these students use their musical talents to raise awareness and funds for children from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds enrolled in the EL programs in India, Cambodia, and Kenya.
Problem Statement: The Urgent Need for Life and Leadership Skills
There is a critical need to invest in Life and Leadership Skills development in youth to prepare them to face a dynamic and uncertain future. These are the 21st-century skills that help them become productive and responsible adults – capable of taking care of themselves and the world around them. 80% of the world’s children do not have access and opportunity to develop these skills, leaving them ill-equipped for the future and exacerbating the economic divide. Enabling Leadership believes that every child can be a leader. The organization’s goal is to reach and impact at least a million children. The Kidz4kidz platform and this annual concert are seen as important elements in building the awareness and momentum necessary for the world to make these investments. With youth leading the charge to make a difference in their peers’ lives, it will become a powerful movement for change.
Solution Framework: Harnessing the Power of Music for Skill Development
Learning music teaches essential Life skills like discipline, focus, listening, collaboration, empathy, creative thinking, and more. Studies have shown that children who have learned music use and apply these skills, making them more successful in life and at work. Therefore, Enabling Leadership aimed to reach students whose parents recognize these benefits and have the means to invest in their children’s music education.
Strategic Outreach and Engagement
The natural choice was to contact music schools worldwide, private institutions where children enroll to learn music outside of their school hours. Enabling Leadership asked the music schools to offer their students the opportunity to participate in the Kidz4kidz concert and support those interested in choosing, practicing, and recording their performances. Each student who registered to participate was asked to submit a short recording of a performance as an audition – this could be uploaded onto the platform. Several music teachers from the EL-Create program as well as private music teachers evaluated these auditions, which helped with the first level of selection. The organization also talked to the students and their parents to understand their motivation for taking part in the concert – they wanted students who not only brought musical talent but were also passionate about developing their leadership skills through service.
Achieving Fundraising Milestones
This year's concert goal was to help support 2,000 underserved children enrolled in Enabling Leadership’s programs in India, Kenya, Cambodia, and Singapore. Each student participating in the concert ran a campaign with the goal of raising money to support 10 children in the EL programs, i.e., $1,200. These students are then connected to the 10 children they helped support through regular virtual calls.
In light of the success of Kidz4Kidz 2024, Ravi Sonnad, CEO and Founder, Enabling Leadership, shares how the organisation plans to leverage music education to empower future generations of young leaders and bridge the gap in educational equity:
"We would like to build on the success of this second concert and continue to build awareness of the criticality and importance of inculcating Life and Leadership skills in youth to help prepare them for the changing and uncertain work environment of the 21st century. Today, skills such as communication and collaboration, problem-solving, planning, and time management are far more valuable in the workplace as well as in society compared to the scores on an academic test, and we want the education system to realize the need for this change and evolution."
Metrics Beyond Money: Evaluating Success
This year, over 400 students applied to participate in the concert. After the auditions, 250 students from 16 countries were selected to perform in the 36-hour online marathon. Several music experts and educationalists participated in panel discussions aired between the performances. These discussions focused on the power of music to develop essential life and leadership skills and the need for universal access to this type of education.
Success is not measured by the amount of money raised through this initiative. Enabling Leadership looks at several different metrics - how many students came forward to participate, how many ran a campaign and canvassed their network, posted on social media, etc., to get people to support their campaigns, and how many people watched the concert or its recording post-event. The main reason for this approach is to build awareness of the importance and criticality of the cause - providing access and opportunity to every child to develop the essential skills necessary to be successful at work and in life, and to offer talented youth the chance to come forward, lean in, and make a difference by supporting their less fortunate peers.
Overcoming Organizational Challenges
Several challenges were faced in organizing and orchestrating this concert. Given its online format, there were varying levels of recording quality from students depending on the equipment they had access to either at home or in their music schools. Enabling Leadership worked with music teachers to provide guidelines for how best to record the performances. They also had to get in touch with parents and gain their buy-in. Often, parents saw this as an opportunity for their child to showcase their talents. A call center was set up to connect with parents individually to explain the purpose of the concert and what was in it for the participating students. Several technical hurdles had to be overcome to ensure a smooth streaming of the 36-hour performance.
Scalable and Replicable Models for the Future
Since Enabling Leadership is reaching out to a global audience and asking them to participate in an online event, this format has an almost infinite potential to be replicated at scale. The organization aims to grow this platform into a unique learning opportunity where youth develop leadership skills through service.
Beyond music education, Ravi Sonnad explains other creative mediums and future initiatives that Enabling Leadership is exploring to broaden its impact and reach on underprivileged children:
"Currently, Enabling Leadership runs three programs: EL CREATE, EL PLAY, and EL BUILD using the mediums of music, football, and building blocks respectively to develop leadership skills in under-resourced children. EL CREATE is a group-based music learning program that enables children from under-resourced schools to inculcate essential skills through the medium of music. Our EL PLAY program uses football as a medium to inculcate the same set of Life and Leadership skills through the power of team sports. The EL BUILD program uses Lego-type building blocks to encourage children to think out of the box, learning creative and critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills through exercises that guide them in building various structures."
Conclusion: Empowering Future Generations
Enabling Leadership's Kidz4Kidz initiative exemplifies the power of collaboration and creative engagement in addressing critical social issues. Through the universal language of music, the initiative not only raises funds but also cultivates essential life and leadership skills in both privileged and underprivileged youth. Looking ahead, Enabling Leadership remains committed to leveraging diverse mediums such as music, sports, and creative problem-solving to empower future generations and foster positive change on a global scale.
(Disclaimer: The information contained in this case study is courtesy of Enabling Leadership.)
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