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The
Woodcraft Folk is an educational movement for children and young people -
both girls and boys - designed to develop self-confidence and activity in
society, with the aim of building a world based on equality, peace, social
justice and co-operation. The Woodcraft Folk is a national movement with over
18,000 members from 500 groups all over the UK.
Based in Derwentside, Stanley Woodcraft Folk attract young people from South
Stanley, South Moor, Havannah and Catchgate. The children and young people
choose the activities they would like to participate in by group discussion.
Through its activities, Woodcraft Folk tries to give its members an understanding of important issues such as the environment, world debt and global conflict, with a key focus in recent years being sustainable development.
"My name is Steven and I joined Woodcraft aged 10 and I have had some fantastic experiences. One example is when I went to Global Village. I met people from all over the world and I received a Bolivian wind pipe and a tee shirt that has coloured my mams washing." Steven aged 12.
Stanley
Woodcraft Folk received a grant of £6,910 from the Local Network Fund
to attend The Global Village Youth Festival in Maidestone, Kent.
The first international camp took place in 1946 in Brighton, England. It brought together children and young people from previously warring countries to create for a fortnight a community of hope for a better future and better world.
The 2006 festival was staged by The International Falcon Movement and the Woodcraft Folk with the aim of empowering young people to become actively involved in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The festival aimed to encourage young people and adults to explore ways in which future international peace can be achieved through a human-centred, democratic approach. Focusing on issues such as conflict, poverty, and disease. It was hoped that Global Village would raise awareness of what needs to be done if future generations of children are to grow up 'free from want' and 'free from fear'.
5000 children from over 50 countries attended the camp. The Stanley Woodcraft Folk were joined in their camp by 25 Germans, 5 Bolivians, 4 Iraqis and a young man from Malaya. Many of the children entertained the crowd with various singing and dancing displays.
"The
Latin American night was special with many of us dancing the night away to
bands from Bolivia, Brazil and Mexico. We also celebrated Bolivian national
day with our new friends, they were fantastic all camp and even when their
luggage was delayed five days they never stopped smiling."
One of the volunteers from Stanley Woodcraft Folk said,
"Imagine being a young person from Stanley and going away for 10 days to take part in global activities and meet people from different cultures for the experience of a lifetime! ... When I was younger I went to two of these festivals, they gave me experiences of new cultures and societies and showed me the world is a big place. These experiences encouraged me to do voluntary youth work and then to go on to university to study community and youth work. I hope the festival in Kent has had the same positive effect on other lives."
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