SoundSurfers

Developing a high-quality and empowering youth program

Abstract

SoundSurfers is a youth-led program of Foroige Ireland that provides a safe, dynamic and creative environment for young people aged from ten to eighteen years to empower themselves through music technology, practice and public performance. This article analyses young people’s experiences of SoundSurfers within the context of recent research on effective youth programs. It demonstrates how the program engages young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and describes how national education organisations such as Camara Education Ireland and its TechSpace program can successfully equip skilled youth workers for this work. By fostering a diverse community of participants supported by skilled youth workers, young people can develop mutual respect and share common interests through peer-supported activities. The authors illustrate how offering mainstream creative provision enables a process that builds interdependence and empathy in young people. The SoundSurfers inter-agency approach is also highlighted to emphasise the positive opportunities and outcomes that can arise from this approach.