Leading the dream

Having students in charge of organising a major event sounds ambitious, but this is all part of a British Council-sponsored initiative called Dreams and Teams. The idea is that, by setting up their own sports festival, students develop leadership and organisation skills. In the process, they will also gain confidence, exchange cultural understanding with foreign participants and make long-lasting friendships.

One of the most striking things about the scene is the adult presence — or, rather, the lack of it. The few adults that are around are simply watching what’s going on and chatting among themselves.

All the activity and energy comes from the young people — students from schools around Thailand and the UK— who have done all the planning, recruited each participant and made every single decision.

The idea for Dreams and Teams originated in the UK through a similar project run by the Youth Sports Trust in which secondary school students organised sports activities for primary-aged children. The scheme was then adapted by the British Council and is currently running in more than 20 countries, including Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

“Sport is universal," says Steve Grainger, managing director of the Youth Sport Trust, who was instrumental in starting up the project in the UK. "The great thing about Dreams and Teams is that it will work the same just about anywhere in the world. The language barrier is not the barrier that people perceive it to be.

"Yes, there’s the organisational element where you have to have a certain degree of understanding each others’ language, but when you get those young leaders out on the park running the festival, language isn’t really a problem.”

Back at Jantanayingyong gymnasium at about one o'clock on a bright Bangkok Sunday afternoon, families with young children are filing into the gymnasium, ready to compete in the sports festival and, above all, to have fun.

It's taken almost a month of hard work and preparation to get to this moment, but the organisers are a happy and confident bunch.

One of them, Tada Chowvanapunja — a 17-year-old student from Yothinburana School who heads the Dreams and Teams Public Relations team — tells learning post that his involvement with the project has benefited him personally.

“It has really helped with my English skills,” he says. “When we talk to the students from the UK, it motivates and stimulates us to use English. We also learn about British students, their culture and how they study.”

Although most of the participants are Thai, all the games have an English-language slant in order to help students build their language skills.

“It goes under the concept of learning English through sport,” says Tada, “and gives us a chance to use English because, in a Thai school, we don’t get to speak much English. It is more helpful when you talk with a foreigner.”

Another member of the PR team, Mint Silapavithayadilok, believes that she and her fellow students learn other valuable skills. “Doing this festival teaches us how to be leaders and work in a team,” she says. “After I joined the project, I got to know how to manage, how to plan and how to work with others. I also made lots of friends.”

Along with the Thai students, a contingent of senior students was on hand from Hayesbrook School in Tonbridge in the UK. This school is designated sports specialist status by the British government and the group had spent the previous week in Chiang Mai, staying with Thai families and coaching youngsters in sports from football to cricket. For them, their Dreams and Teams experience in Thailand has been worthwhile too.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come and coach in Thailand,” says 17-year-old football enthusiast Chris Harrison.

The dream team (from left to right) Pare Pinyopornpanich, Mint Silapavithayadilok, James Dunn and Tada Chowvanapunja

“They are so willing out here to play sport — inspired by high-profile stars like Beckham, Owen and Gerard. They want to be like them, and it’s a massive boost for them to have English coaches who have played in England and watched premiership games. I’ve also managed to get some contacts because I want to coach when I’m older and travel around the world.”

Another British student, James Dunn, was impressed by the hospitality and by the welcome they received from their Thai peers. “It’s been an amazing experience,” he says. “We’ve had an experience here that others won’t get. We now have a better knowledge and understanding of the culture and we’ve learned how to interact with young children.”

Currently, nine schools in Thailand are involved in the Dreams and Teams project — seven in Bangkok and two from other provinces. Their teachers, who in turn are trained by specialists from the UK, coach the students to be young leaders. Importantly, the teachers are encouraged only to guide and train the students rather than provide instructions.

Local tutor Kannikar Chanpoom

“I give them advice and try to be a facilitator,” says Kannikar Chanpooom, the link co-ordinator from Nonsi Wittaya School. “Normally, I always tell students what to do and it’s in my character to help students a lot. But in the programme, I learn how to guide them and consult them, not tell them everything but get them to think for themselves.”

This, she explains, also impacts on her class teaching, granting her the confidence to give students a little more freedom and responsibility. Other teachers at the festival who are all highly motivated and dedicated professionals, keen to develop their own skills and abilities as well as those of their students, shared the same sentiment.

In the future, some of the teachers hope to visit the UK to get some first-hand experience of how British schools work and bring back some of the more successful and appropriate ideas with them.

Luckily, of course, modern technology means that communication between Thais and Brits is not restricted to long-haul trips. A major part of Dreams and Teams is the development of a website and interactive forum, allowing students and teachers from across the globe to chat with each other and share ideas.

David Mathias, ICT projects co-ordinator with the British Council, is the man responsible for setting up the website and has become increasingly involved in the day-to-day running of Dreams and Teams.

David says that the website has been a useful tool for the students and teachers, and that the programme as a whole has gone from strength to strength since it was first implemented — so much so that the Thai government want to implement the programme in their “lab schools” project.

“Often people high up will see something as being successful and they’ll want to replicate it on a mass scale,” he says. “With Dreams and Teams, it can’t be done like that. Even with the nine or so schools already involved, the model is not perfect. The best thing would be for a another nine schools to join that are near to each of the current schools, so each school within the Thai project has a link school that they can cascade the training to.”

For the time being, the enthusiasm of the current Dreams and Teams organisers is evident for all to see. Once the opening speeches of the festival and energetic warm-up session are over, the games begin. Within minutes, it's clear that everyone is having fun and the young leaders watch on, justifiably proud at what they have achieved, knowing it is something they will treasure for many years.

In a message on the Dreams and Teams webboard, Tada Chowvanapunja summed up the feeling well.

“You know we were all excited and nervous,” he wrote. “Sometimes we just can't express how we feel through words but, well, it was so precious to me ... working with you guys from different schools and getting a chance to work with six students from the UK. I’m in a sad mood because I don't know when we will be able to meet each other again. I hope that everybody will remember the moments we shared together on that weekend too.”

Through the Dreams and Teams scheme, teachers become Local Tutors learning to teach in a more involving and less "telling" way. Students then learn to be Young Sports Leaders in an informal and fun environment. After five days of training, the aim is that the students can confidently organise a sports festival. The project is designed to make students more enthusiastic about learning, encourage them to learn about IT, improve English through linking, and develop leadership skills.

If you would like to learn more about Dreams and Teams, you can visit their website at www.britishcouncil.or.th/en/education/edu-col-dnt.htm.