Dreams + Teams is an international partnership programme that uses sport to develop leadership skills & citizenship values in young people. The programme involves training courses for Local Tutors (school teachers primarily), who then train young people (senior students) to act as Young Leaders and organise sports festivals in their respective schools. Dreams + Teams promotes school partnerships and encourages the Young Leaders to work with their fellow students in the partner schools in the UK via e-mail, video conferencing and face-to-face contact, bringing an international and cross-cultural understanding to everything they do.

AIMS

• To encourage leadership skills among young people by engaging them in sport activities
• To develop citizenship skills and promote international understanding
• To facilitate sport-based partnerships between schools in India and the UK

BENEFITS

Students

• Challenging opportunities for personal development and greater international understanding
• Recognition as trained Young Leaders
• Enhancement of leadership skills, citizenship values and self-esteem

Teachers

• Professional development opportunities
• Effective platform for networking with sports and education professionals within the country and internationally
• Enhanced knowledge sharing and learning from international experiences

Schools

• Opportunity to work collaboratively with schools and specialist sports colleges in the UK
• Recognition for being proactive in enhancement of cross-cultural understanding
• Development of a community of motivated students and teachers serving as effective role models

FUNDING & MANAGEMENT

The programme is managed and developed by the British Council UK and the Youth Sport Trust (YST) with local in-country partners, the British Council office in the country being one of the local partners for the programme. The Youth Sport Trust is a registered charity in the UK and its mission is to support the education and development of all young people through physical education (PE) and sport.  Dreams + Teams programme is operational in the UK and many countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean and has been introduced in India in October 2004.

PARTICIPANTS

The five schools participating in the first Dreams + Teams India programme since 2004-05 are -  Bal Bharati Public School (Rajinder Nagar, Delhi), BRCM Public School (Haryana), Mother’s International School (Delhi), Motilal Nehru School of Sports (Haryana) and Ramjas School (RK Puram, Delhi). The selected teachers and students of these five schools were trained by a UK Lead Trainer under the Dreams + Teams Young Leader programme in January 2005 and will go on to organise sports festivals in their respective schools later in the year.

In 2007 January in the second phase of the programme in India 10 schools from North and East India participated in Dreams and Teams Training for Local Tutors and Young Leaders. These schools will now work on cascading training and setting up Dreams and Teams Clubs in their schools.

INTERESTED

For further information about Dreams + Teams, please visit the website www.britishcouncil.org/dreams-about.htm or write to Kanta Vadehra.