Social festivals and cultural programs help build children's confidence
Social festivals and inter-school cultural programs serve as wonderful opportunities to support building children's confidence and interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills include the ability to communicate and interact effectively with others and confidence is the belief in our own self and our own abilities, both of which are essential for building positive relationships with others. In this article, we will look at a few ways these events lend themselves to helping build children's confidence and interpersonal skills.
Collaboration: Social festivals and inter-school cultural programs often require teamwork and collaboration between children. During these events, children are required to collaborate with several people and teams, including their own and from different schools and backgrounds. The collaboration occurs in different and over a period of time, while planning for the events and then during the event too. By working together towards a common goal, children learn to communicate effectively, share ideas, and resolve conflicts in a constructive manner. Developing these interpersonal skills also leads to children feeling successful and building their confidence.
Cultural Representation and Social Awareness: Social festivals and inter-school cultural programs provide children with exposure to different cultures, languages, and traditions, which can broaden their horizons and help them develop empathy and understanding towards others. Children may make new friends and connections, which can help them feel more connected to their community and develop a sense of belonging. These events are a great way of developing this as they bring a lot of children together, from different schools and backgrounds in a fun, relatable way, working together and thereby creating a sense of unity and camaraderie. These special interactions and experiences teach children to be more appreciative of diversity and differences and be more accepting, tolerant and inclusive, towards people from different walks of life. These events bring with them the potential for children to be representatives of their culture, sharing it with others and teaching them about it.
Creativity and Skills: Social festivals and inter-school cultural programs provide children with a platform to harness, grow and showcase their skills and talents beyond their daily classrooms. These typically range on a wide spectrum of different categories of creative expression and more, including and not limited to public speaking, dance, music, and trivia, performed in front of an audience. This experience can be incredibly empowering for children, as it helps them develop a sense of pride and accomplishment in their abilities. Performing in front of others also requires and builds courage, confidence and self-esteem. Being recognized for their effort, skills and talents will help children feel valued and appreciated. Receiving positive feedback can boost their self-esteem and help them feel more confident in themselves and their abilities and also encourage them to keep building on them further. In these social interactions, children not only learn the important skills of receiving positive feedback, but it also sets the stage for them to be able to appreciate others and generously give positive feedback.
These social festivals and inter-school cultural programs provide children with a unique platform where they have the ability to collaborate with, meet and socialise with peers from their own school and different schools, showcase their talents, and teach and learn about different cultures and traditions. It is important for schools and communities to support and encourage as much participation in these events as possible, as they can have a significant impact on a child’s development and well-being. These skills are an essential part of our lives and often at the core of almost all aspects of our lives. Therefore, empowering our children by creating spaces to shape them, will serve them well throughout their lives.
(The writer is Head of Counselling/ Socio-Emotional Learning, at The Acres Foundation)
