Matthew Aka's Colleagues at BluePrintForLife
Matthew Aka's Contact Details
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
BluePrintForLife
Matthew Aka's Company Details
BluePrintForLife is considered one of the worlds leading companies using HipHop as both a community development tool and as a model for alternative education and healing.\\BluePrintForLife (www.BluePrintForLife.ca) offers dynamic, culturally appropriate programs designed for First Nations and Inuit youth that are founded on HipHop, rooted in traditional culture, and centered on community needs. Their programming has also been successfully adapted to meet the needs of youth in Canada's inner cities, working with youth at risk and newly immigrated families to Canada.\\BluePrintForLife offers 3 major programs and a variety of follow-up activities. Built into the programming is the long-term goal of not only promoting the healing of individuals and communities, but also of building long-term sustainability and leaders for tomorrow. Detailed schedules of these weekly programs are available upon request.\\These programs presently include:\\1: Social Work Through HipHop\2: Leadership Through HipHop\3: Healing Through HipHop\\The programming consists of intensive 5-day workshops that become the school curriculum for the entire week in remote arctic communities and in Canada's inner cities. HipHop is used as a powerful engagement tool to deal with complex issues such as family violence, sexual abuse, anger management, drugs and alcohol and suicide. Our programs explore the positive elements of HipHop while providing youth with a survival toolkit, which celebrates traditional cultural values and provides \important leadership skills. \\\The approach of BluePrintForLife's programming is appealing to youth and is community focused. We have impacted approximately 3000 youth in over 36 projects carried out in First Nations and Inuit communities, as well as Canada's Inner cities.