A Hypothetical "Dream Project"

Analyses of kids' answers to Kidlink's four questions show that they dream about improvement in areas like ecology, peace and equality, hunger and poverty, safety, respect and love. However, they also show many children feel they cannot do anything today except study hard so that they can make a difference some time in the future.

Kidlink wants to help children start make a difference now. At the same time, we do not want to impose guidelines or examples on them that might  lead them into specific "adult tracks" or ways of thinking!

Here's a hypothetical example indicating what might happen:

Module 1 - Develop a dream

A team in a class selects a topic within peace and equality, and calls it Let's stop wars! They come up with a plan that includes

1. to spread information
2. to let youth in war zones talk with each other through Kidlink's infrastructure

Module 2 - Select a dream

The team promote their idea to the other participants, and invite other Kidlink participants to join them.

Four other class teams and six individual kids from around the world decide to participate in their project.

Negotiating, they discuss elements of their desired shared dream with their new partners. For example, should "writing letters to heads of state" be part of their common dream project?

Module 3 - Organize dream projects

The extended team decides on a definition of their common objective, and starts planning. Initially, this plan may include:

• Request a KidCom room for kids in war zones where they can talk together
• Find funding of computers and access to the Internet for groups of kids (who may be in a camp of fugitives), and make plans to have such equipment put into practical use
• Request web space where information may be posted (for example, on KidSpace)
• Search the net to see if others are working on the same dream: To learn and to find possible partners.

Module 4 - Your dream project starts

Work begins.

Module 5 - Evaluation

The team assesses what they have achieved against plans, identifies better ways of reaching more of their common objective, and decide to create two plans:

1. What more can we do if we can find sponsors?
2. What if nobody wants to fund our plan?

Module 6 - Finance your dream

The team writes and submits applications for financial support to potential sponsors.

Does Kidlink take a stand on political issues?

Kidlink provides an educational program. We will not ask participants to dream up projects about peace. We do not take a stand on political issues!

We provide links between "their" dream projects, and teachers' curriculum needs. While they will be allowed to advertise their views on peace in the "I have a dream" project's web pages, Kidlink will not take a stand on these views.

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