At Creative Services Support Group (CSSG) our focus is to instill creative ability to rethink, reinvent, and reimage in our target audience, the underprivileged youth. Our careful needs assessment, research and analysis regarding underprivileged youth, within the creative sectors, have revealed inadequate support for underprivileged young individuals. They need access to training and mentorship in the creative fields. It was also clear that there are already a variety of organizations focused on vocational training. Nevertheless, they are mainly preparing people for careers as hairdressers, machinists or perpetuating India’s rich cultural heritage through training in traditional handicrafts or performance arts. CSSG seeks to go above and beyond vocational training, by providing not just the technical knowledge but also nurturing the latent creative aptitude amongst the underprivileged youth. CSSG has identified the opportunities associated with leveraging creativity to achieve positive cultural, social and economic outcomes and has taken advantage of this novel approach to deliver beneficial results. Most creative sectors require talent and training. By providing opportunities in the creative sectors CSSG is able to reach out to a wider group of young men and women whose talents and capabilities have not previously been given an opportunity to flourish. Not everyone will have the opportunity or the intellectual capacity to become a doctor or lawyer and therefore it is important for children and young adults to understand the other alternatives, which exist outside of these professional frameworks. There is normally a 10% of underprivileged youth that will be able to reach outstanding positions. Other 40% of them will find their way and will get access to traditional jobs. CSSG work focuses in the remaining 50% underprivileged youth.
Employment in the creative sectors typically requires less financial investment in formal academia and training can be done on the job, whilst simultaneously making an instant contribution to employers, making the creative sectors more accessible for the underprivileged. Hence at CSSG, giving this exposure to the youth is our way of empowering them. However, CSSG has realized that properly positioning every creative sector requires around three years to be launched, developed, implemented, monitored and evaluated. Specific objectives and activities in each of the creative areas have to match with aims and general objective. Thus, the Charity has decided to strategically develop all of the sectors in stages, positioning those that are more broad, relevant or needed at an early stage while leaving the implementation of the other sectors that might be more specific and relatively easy to work on for a later stage. It is necessary to remember that in any case, most of the creative sectors are closely related and the development in any particular sector through inter-linkages indirectly support the development of other sectors.
Hereinafter, the creative sectors CSSG has decided to work on:
Food
Our youth is a creative bunch of individuals. Their calling in life is as diverse as their personalities. Some of them seek a career as a speciality chef but need access to information and training in this industry.
At CSSG, we empower them through providing exposure to the best that this industry has to offer. We tie up with institutes, national and international, to give them the edge to take their first steps with ease and confidence.
Since the commencement of activities in 2012, CSSG has successfully placed fifteen individuals in the kitchens of some of the best restaurants in Delhi. And they are climbing up the rungs of the ladder in their careers.
In 2015, twenty of our beneficiaries will be trained in leading universities in culinary skills and housekeeping and placed within the hospitality industry.
For the first time in India, CSSG will have ten leading female chefs from all over the world, bringing together some of the greatest names in cooking. The chefs will among others include Helena Rizzo- World best female Chef 2014 and Gabrielle Hamilton- the author of Blood, Bones and Butter. Five dinners curated by them will be a part of our fundraising activity in the coming year.
Literature
Literature is a form of expression of our innermost thoughts, conditioned at times by our upbringing and cultural lineage. Among our underprivileged youth are individuals with unrealised potential in this field. We at CSSG facilitate the nurturing of these individuals through mentoring and helping them develop these abilities. A specific program catering to their career building will be developed at a later stage.
Over 2014 and 2015, we are raising gender awareness among young girls in India and other countries through nurturing their creative expression in forms of letters written by them on this subject.
Art
Artistic underprivileged youth must be encouraged to present and polish their talents. Often such individuals suppress their leaning towards the arts in order to earn a livelihood through conventional career choices. At CSSG we believe in encouraging and showcasing their talents through our activities as most of these individuals hail from difficult backgrounds and need to succeed in life to break the cycle of poverty and neglect. The main focus in our activities is applied art, rather than fine art. The charity is developing specific programs to allow its beneficiaries to showcase their talents.
Currently this sector is being supported through a creative Art exhibition and Outreach activity that will be implemented in early 2015. The works of renowned artists in relation to gender issues will bring together open letters by girls, talking about future aspirations and expectations with the focus on the evolving roles of woman in the future. This activity will be a part of an activity chain in other countries as well and will document the letters written by girls from around the globe.
Design
CSSG would like to develop programmes and activities in relation to the Design sector since it is an area where supportive programmes are not in place. Careful analysis and implementation need to precede developing of these activities. Specific programmes will be developed at a later stage to boost careers in this sector. We have however already placed one of our beneficiaries in the computer design sector.
Architecture
CSSG has foreseen good opportunities for underprivileged youth in the architecture, drafting and landscape architecture services areas. We are keen to develop specific programmes in this sector at a later stage.
Fashion
Another sector in which underprivileged youth have shown talent and interest is fashion. CSSG has planned specific activities to support the training, education or job exposure of youth in this specific sector. It has already placed one beneficiary within the fashion industry. In this regard, we are considering key skills such as pattern cutting. In the near future, fashion will be indirectly involved in other activities aiming at supporting other creative sectors.
Music
CSSG has also listed the music sector as one key areas of work. Youth in general and underprivileged youth in particular, often use music as a tool to express their feelings and emotions. Many of them do have the talent but unfortunately are not trained in this sector due to lack of exposure. The recent explosion of reality shows on television, has brought in focus the exceptional talents that the underprivileged youth possess. CSSG looks at music in a holistic way and is interested in supporting the technical skills amongst the individuals interested in this creative sector rather than creating musicians.
Although, the music industry is also a very broad and complex sector, CSSG believes it is an area where many windows of opportunity can be opened to youth. Some plans for the near future include the interaction of youth with stalwarts in the music sector to mentor them as well as to create career avenues for them. In addition, CSSG is looking at opening collaboration opportunities with music projects working already with underprivileged youth around the world. One such project as it is the “Landfill Harmonic Project” in Paraguay. At a later stage, a specific program will aim to provide education, mentoring and job placement in this industry.
Dance
This sector among performing arts generates a lot of interest given the talent of the youth and exposure given by reality shows and stage shows. CSSG has already placed a young man at a dance company. In the long run CSSG will develop specific training programmes and facilitate career exposure to those beneficiaries interested in such field. In the meantime, will continue promoting dance indirectly while developing other creative sectors. Furthermore, CSSG has also been looking at other complementary skills such as yoga training for those interested in this field to take it up as a means to earning a livelihood.
Theatre
CSSG has also listed theatre as one of the performing arts industries where it would be committed to support its beneficiaries. Indeed, it has been proven that it is also one of the favourite areas chosen by youth to express their emotions and feelings and many of them would be looking at pursuing technical careers in such a field. Thus, CSSG will be developing specific activities to support training, mentoring and career exposure for those underprivileged youth committed to dedicate themselves to pursue a career in such sector. However, CSSG would like to focus on the technical aspect of this sector, supporting more the backstage aspect rather than the acting aspect of it.
Film
A lot has been said about the need of innovative and creative individuals to constantly support the vibrant and constantly growing film industry. CSSG is committed to constitute a pool of talents with the necessary technical skills to support this as well as other creative sectors. In that sense, our charity work will be focused on providing underprivileged youth the necessary technical skills through vocational training, education, mentoring and career exposure. In the .long run, specific activities in each of those programs will be launched to support the film sector. However, as it is the case with other sectors, CSSG would like to focus on the technical aspect of the film sector rather in just creating film actors.
Broadcast
CSSG has also included the technical aspects of the broadcasting sector as one of the areas where it would like to support underprivileged youth. Several best practices of work with the youth population include broadcasting experiences as one area where youth participation has played a particular role and interest. The inclusion technical aspects of such sector will be gradual accordingly to the development of our charity work. Nevertheless, it would be indirectly included while developing and implementing other sectors.
Advertising
The advertising sector plays a particular role within the creative world, there is always need for skills and youth do always bring innovation and creativity. Therefore, CSSG is also committed to support those youth committed to show their talent in the advertising world, and sees such a sector as complimenting applied arts. In the short run, the Charity will link such sector in the implementation of other sectors and later on will develop specific activities to promote it.
Technology
CSSG has also selected technology as one of the creative sectors where underprivileged youth have to be strongly supported, and sees such a sector as complimenting applied arts. So far, one of our beneficiaries has already been placed at a computer design company. Nevertheless, specific training, mentoring, career exposure as well as job placement is foreseen. However, the technology world is huge and a specific plan has to be developed. Furthermore, awareness building, networking, public relations and further research has to be developed to better support youth with specific skills for such sector.
Policy
CSSG seeks to support underprivileged youth in policy. Policy plays a key role in effectively supporting the design and implementation of activities and programmes in the rest of the sectors. It is indeed seen as a key element to produce a change in the way poverty is dealt with. Youth with abilities to see creativity from a holistic perspective and with abilities in more than one of them could be strongly supported by CSSG through awareness building, training, education, mentoring and job placement, to become important actors, managers, monitors and/or evaluators in the design and implementation of policies for all of the creative industries.