Alex Owens

The BoomBox Collective

 

Building Creative Opportunities for Positive Social Interaction

 

What happens when we create events where youth and adults have opportunities to connect in meaningful ways, share passions and learn from each other? This research project started with the belief that there are not enough communal places and programming for individuals of all ages and backgrounds to come together.  I wanted to experiment with what happens when we created opportunities for youth and adults to connect in more meaningful ways- to talk about important issues, learn from each other’s experience, and share their own story. Through the year, as one half of the community initiative The BoomBox Collective, I created three separate events designed to inspire these conversations and facilitate possible interpersonal connections. Through surveys, interviews, and collective observation, we examined how to better design inclusive community spaces for positive social interaction. In doing so we wrestled with the value of collaboration, both in and out of our school setting and realized the overlooked similarities between adult and youth learning. These findings also indicated that organizers cannot encourage our students to participate just for the sake of interaction, but they first need to be empowered to lead.

 

Introduction

 

Literature Review

 

Setting Description

 

Methods and Research Design

 

Introduction to Findings

 

Chapter 1 Community Music Exchange

 

Chapter 2 Trade School

 

Chapter 3 At The Table

 

Final Conclusions

 

Reflection

 

Work Cited