My name is Clara Omol. I am currently working as a Creative Team Lead at Community Based Organization in Kenya, called Mwana Arts Space. The mission of the organization is advocating for children's mental health, providing a safe space where children can improve on their literacy skills and use their talents to express themselves.

One of the main  activities we take part in are art sessions , talent activities ie film and music, read aloud sessions and soon, we hope to incorporate skateboarding sessions in order to help improve children's mental wellness.

Some of the Monitoring , Evaluation and Learning activities we do are:

1.Planning : This is where we work as a team in identifying a community and children's home that we would like to work with and organize for a community visit. In the visit, we do surveys by asking questions about the needs  of the community and share ideas about the project we would like to work on. In the survey, we collect data such as : 

- How many learners are in the children's home or school? 

- What is the gender? 

- What are some of the pressing needs in the community? 

2. Do : This is where we set the starting date and the end date. We also identify who will take part in the activities, what resources will we need, the funding (fundraising activities) and also set achievable goals. We also make sure to document every activity by taking photos, videos and highlighting them on our social media platforms. 

3. Assess : From every weeks activities or daily activities, we get to assess what went well and what we could improve from all the activities we carry out. This really helps us to be better and identify areas of improvement. 

4. Review : In the review process, we get to revisit the goals that we had set and get more information about how much has been done based on a specific period of time. We also get to know whether we are on the right track and what impact has been made. In this stage we interview : the staff (team), the teachers or caregivers and the children. 

Learning about Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning had been very insightful. I have learned so much about some the activities of MEL and the importance. This includes ; Writing Donors Reports, putting together success stories and survey analysis. 

Learning the terms for things I'm already doing!

I'm a skateboarding coach and just recently started joining fundraising meeting in my organization. Learning about MEL and reflecting on what parts of MEL I've been contributing to as a coach is really eye-opening. 

Parts of my daily duties that translate/add to MEL:

Attendance, including gender and age breakdowns of programs.

Monitoring each skater's individual skills as a basis for understanding the qualitative effects skateboarding is having on our students. Our mission is to empower girls, POC, and LGBTQi youth through skateboarding- not to make sure every student can drop in at 6 feet. I care more about whether our kids learn confidence, how to navigate giving and receiving consent, and how to share space within a group.

I check in with both the kids and parents to give and receive feedback daily. 

I huddle up with my coworkers daily. Do the kids seem to be having fun regardless of who's coaching them? If they weren't, how would we address that?

This class has barely begun and I'm fascinated!

Hi my name is Jo and my project is SkateHive in the UK

There are some things that we already do e.g. registration forms and tracking attendance but there are some other things which would make our MEL much more solid. So going forward I would like to include the following in our MEL:

Registration forms:**
   To capture age/gender and consent for privacy and photography/video
2. **Pre-Program Surveys:**
   Conduct surveys before the program begins to collect baseline data on participants' demographics, skill levels, motivations, and expectations.
3. **Documentation and Multimedia:**
   Document the program through photos, videos, and testimonials that showcase the diversity and inclusivity. Use this media to illustrate the program's impact.
4. **Feedback Sessions:**
   Hold feedback sessions where participants can openly share their thoughts on the program, its inclusivity, and any barriers they've encountered. Use this feedback for continuous improvement.
5. **Surveys and Questionnaires:**
   Periodically administer surveys and questionnaires to gather quantitative data on participants' satisfaction, skill improvements, and feelings of inclusion.
6. **Inclusive Partnerships:**
   Collaborate with LGBTQIA+ organisations and activists for external evaluation and feedback on the program's inclusivity.

Hi,

Im Tiina, i have an event project called Tytöt shreddaa (Girls shred). I ´ve done survey to find out what people hope from the event and i planned the event based on the outcome. I also made a feedback form for people to fill in, so i could write a report of the project. Me and volunteers also talked a lot with people during the event about how they felt about the day and the way it was going. Based on the feedback i now know what i have to do next time in order to develop the event for better. We also had a person to film the whole event and he made a nice edit about it where you can see the whole day and how much there were people.

Hi Tiina,

I run the MOSS group in Barcelona and I think it's important to be as inclusive as possible. It's not just about skating it's about connecting your community with the wider world. For me, my focus has always been about art and global justice. So, always keep in mind that what you do is bigger than skating but skating is at the core of it. 

This article from last year explains what I am trying to do here. 

Check this: https://www.cataloniatoday.cat/article/2214133-greater-than-skaters.html

Note in the photo, I went to speak to people with special needs about MOSS - people with Down Syndrome, autism etc and this was the most rewarding outreach that I did. I'm now really looking forward to go back there. 

To build your movement, you have to think outside the box and I'd say skaters are good at that. In order to get to know the local skaters I started a photographic project. I tell them that I think skaters have a different way of looking at the world and are more connected to creative ideas than people doing other activities. I ask them about their political/philosophical views and they write about it and then I take a picture of them with their message/idea. Barcelona has become a global skate capital and most people I meet at my local skateparks are not Spanish. I am also trying to document the local/global skate community with this project.

https://www.instagram.com/what_skaters_think/  

Good luck and I'd be interested to hear about how you get on. 

Cheers

John

https://www.instagram.com/mossfoundationskaters/

Hey Jo,

Thanks for sharing your MEL ideas - If you execute all of those your project will be flying!! I especially like number 5 and I'd be interested to learn what kind of questions you'd include and your method for measuring them. If you'd like any support do let me know - this is something I also put together for the Free Movement Skateboarding participants many moons ago :)