Youth Adult Co-creation: Let’s build our dream youth centre!

中文版本

What impression does Sheung Shui or Fanling give you? 

Streets crowded with parallel goods trader? Ox in field? Luen Wo Market? Well…anything for youths? You should meet the following group of youths, they can tell you their answers and share their stories of how they co-create a fascinating youth community with the youth workers/ social workers from BGCA Fanling.

Sheung Shui doesn’t have many attractive places for youths to make friends and build relationship with the local community, so the youth workers and youths tried to came up with ideas to co-create their new centre 清河分處 to build the local youth community in both Sheung Shui and Fanling. Throughout 6 weeks, they started from asking “what if” questions to design and building 4 amazing projects for the local youths. What are their projects?

  • A DIY speaker with music synchronised blinking LED 
  • A mobile coffee cart
  • A youth work display-storage Shelf
  • A basketball game station

Words from the co-creation team

佩欣 “I learned how to use the woodworking tools such as drills, jigsaw and handsaw”, “It is satisfying to see I can really build the whole shelf!”

Here is the “Youth-Adult Co-create Team” behind the scene!

Team Photo

Youth worker Emily, social worker Sonic, Sunny, youth technician Oi Lam, 8 youths,  MBF instructor Maria and Keaton.

Video (process + interviews) – coming soon

Let’s see how they make their ideas come true!

Stage 1: Idea Generation

In the first meetup, Emily invited the youths to think about what youths facilities are there in Sheung Shui and where are they usually spend their leisure time? Three boys, 卓曦, 軒 and 堃 share the same interests which is music said “Hm…we like music but we don’t have a safe Disco place in both Sheung Shui and Fanling, can we build a good speaker (Strong Bass!!) with blinking LED in the centre?”

Another youth, 巧怡, suggested “Can we have a mobile coffee cart, so I can share my passion of coffee latte art with others and create a cool cafe place for our friends?”

Two youths, 佩欣 and 泰 are die heart fans of bus. They always think there are a lack of space for them to display their bus models and DIY works. Thus, they came up with an idea of making a display-storage space for the members in the youth centre.

Stage 2: Field Study

In the second meetup, they took their design sketches with them, jot down some interview questions and walk into the community to ask for feedbacks. Their mission is to ask 10 youths for feedback. Some of them are a bit shy at the very beginning, but after a few more rounds, they gain more confident to reach out to stop people for short interview.

Stage 3: Refine Designs & Prepare materials

After the interview, the youths and social workers compiled the feedbacks collected to worked out an updated design and list out the material list.

Stage 4: Prototyping

They learnt how to use the basic woodwork tools and making a 1:10 model of their design. 

Stage 5: Building

With proper training and practice, they found that it’s actually not that scary to operate a jigsaw.

Drilling holes for putting wheels for the coffee cart

Soldering the speaker set … this step need a lot of patient and focus.

Wrapping the basketball game station frame with net.

Stage 6: Done! 

After 4 weeks hard work, it’s time to harvest!

Stage 7: Share! 

Let’s celebrate after hard work! Their works will be exhibited in the Maker Faire held in the Mills next Saturday, 31 Aug 2019. Save the date!

The youths are editing a instructable of the LED speaker, stay tuned!

 About  Jockey Club YouthCreate Series

The 3 years youth development programme is funded by Hong Kong Jockey Club. This will involve supporting co-develop and co-manage the makerspace of six youth centres and the implementation of maker education programmes which youth can explore new technology, collaborate with others, unleash their diverse potential, dream and experiment and develop maker spirit for social good. MakerBay Foundation is the technical partner of this Maker Education Program.

Program website: http://jcyouthcreate.hk/en/projectpartners/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JCYouthCreate/

About MakerBay Foundation

MakerBay Foundation established in 2017, is the charity arm of MakerBay Limited with the mission to promote maker education. It is a non-profit organization that grows and nurtures youth community by infusing maker mindset and skills to the next generation so they can innovate solutions to help resolve social issues and create positive impacts.

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Ms. Angie Zhou

Education Specialist

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Angie Zhou is an Education Specialist at MIT App Inventor. She was the founder and CEO of Dreams Come True in Shenzhen, where she developed online coding courses for kids. She also has previous curriculum development, teaching and staff training experience at First Code Academy in Hong Kong.