Our Youth Music funded Jam Buddies pilot ends on 11th August.

We have created lots of music and learnt a lot of things about #Inclusion and equal access and had a lot of fun... But did Jam Buddies make equal access to music, the arts and life a reality for young people (YP) with and without ‘learning disability’ or ‘autism’ labels?  The answer has to be… yes …and no.

Creating an accessible place where everyone’s contribution was valued and respected and young people with and without ‘learning disability’ or ‘autism’ labels collaborated socially and musically had its challenges for all of us. We moved through them in the same way as we always do: together.  The music we created, the journeys we each took, the formal recognition that some Jam Buddies achieved and our comments about what difference Jam Buddies made and what we think should happen next can all be seen here:  http://www.theturningtidesproject.org.uk/jam-buddies.html

At times I think we did make ‘equal access’ a reality within Jam Buddies but to what extent did the Top Tips we’ve identified transfer to life outside the Jam Buddies bubble? Perhaps we:

• had a lasting impact on the aspirations of some young people,
• contributed to some journey’s that may otherwise not have been started,
• encouraged the wider community to think about #Inclusion and its responsibility in achieving that.

What’s clear is that to create ‘equal access’ in a bubble takes passion, creativity and an unshakeable belief that it’s not only possible but just. To achieve ‘equal access’ that extends beyond that bubble to the wider community is a huge challenge that requires changes in values, attitudes and expectations at every level of our society.

We’re all responsible for finding the ways in which we move through that challenge together. 

Let’s talk about how we do that:  http://www.theturningtidesproject.org.uk/
 
Written by Jane Williams, Published by Dom Palfreman

The concept of an #Inclusive approach to ‘Buddying’ was central to the Jam Buddies project. In an equal society where everyone is valued for the contribution they make then everyone would give and receive. The challenge is to move away from the assumption that some are givers and some are recipients. We had some lovely examples of this working well. The quirky creativity of many of the Jam Buddies songs is driven by the originality of those Jam Buddies least constrained by the ‘rules’ about what music sounds, looks, feels and tastes like - and these are nearly always the YP (Young People) with ‘disability’ labels who haven’t had the questionable opportunity to be brainwashed!

Some of the YP without labels have been open, confident and have worked respectfully with everyone; impressive inclusive music leaders for the future.


Many of the YP without labels came to ‘help’ and had parents who reinforced that view: there’s much work to do to challenge the attitudes that are barriers to a ‘buddying’ approach and we are working on that.

Attitude change takes time.

Written by Jane Williams, Published by Dom Palfreman