MIXIT is a multicultural youth project in New Zealand that uses the arts as a platform for empowerment, connection and for young people with refugee backgrounds to “mix it up” with migrant and local youth.

Mixit gives young people positive skills and experiences to enrich their lives. It helps increase confidence, self-expression and communication skills. Mixit runs a core programme with a regular weekly Saturday creative session and an annual summer project that takes place in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, and uses a range of performing arts based creative disciplines, including dance, drama, music and aerial circus.

Lead Facilitator

Wendy Preston

Collaborators

Each Mixit project brings on board a wide range of collaborators, including leading artists from New Zealand who work with Mixit youth leaders to facilitate projects.

Expanded Summary:

New Zealand is one of around 37 countries that take part in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regular refugee resettlement programme. New Zealand has a Refugee Quota System which currently resettles 1500 refugees per year, alongside also accepting a small number of asylum seekers and family members of refugees.

Mixit has a commitment to further cultural, educational and empowerment opportunities for young people with refugee backgrounds and to assist their positive integration into New Zealand communities.

Mixit was originally founded in 2006 with support from The Fledgling Trust and emerged from research into the needs of former refugee youth. In 2012 The Mixit Charitable Trust was established as a non-profit Charitable Trust to specifically support youth at community level and to guide the vision of the Mixit Project. The Mixit Trust firmly believes in the power of non-judgemental and inclusive creative platforms to assist young people to find hope, optimism and resilience in order to courageously move on with their lives.

The Unexpected:

Director Wendy Preston has observed that creative practitioners/artists can get emotionally connected to the participants (due to the nature of close relationships that can occur in a meaningful interaction between providers and participants) which can complicate professional and ethical boundaries. Artists are not always skilled at providing comprehensive psychological support and the Mixit leadership have learnt that while there must be an ethical basis of care - this does NOT mean becoming too tangled with participants' potentially very complex lives and needs beyond the delivery of activities and recognised, careful levels of ongoing support. Mixit is also adapting to the changing environment around acceptance of trans-gender orientation. Many of the families and communities Mixit works with can be conservative and suspicious of these societal changes. The Mixit team acknowledges it’s a current challenge how to deal with young people in this regard and working to retain an ethical platform of acceptance, support and increased understanding.

...To make a meaningful difference and walk the talk of truly empowering young people once creativity opens doorways it's critical that the support doesn’t stop when the creative engagement ends but CARE remains steady and consistent for the whole person.

— Wendy Preston
OUTCOME:

Developed through research and partnership building in 2005, Mixit has consistently delivered weekly creative workshops since 2006, never missing a single Saturday. Thousands of participants, from diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences, have been part of this transformative project. Participants often go on to become youth leaders for the project, and the average length of time a participant engages with Mixit is 3-5 years. Participants report experiencing a safe space for expression through the Mixit project, and feeling a sense of belonging, solidarity, making friends and building their confidence at Mixit which helps across other areas of their lives.

CONSIDERATIONS:

Knowing the purpose and reason for a community project is vital. The Mixit project was born out of research into the needs of refugee youth communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. The time spent at the outset researching and understanding the needs, voices, hopes and aspirations of this community made the development of the project stronger, and the community’s needs stayed central to the project. Relationships were built with the community during the research period that flowed into the project.

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Mixit needs to respond to the ever-changing make-up of youth that are coming to the project which changes as different refugee communities come to New Zealand through the quota system. Sometimes the values of the communities are at odds with the contemporary arts practice that is the foundation of the project (e.g dancing, gender mixing) and this needs to be navigated with care.

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Director Wendy Preston spoke about the level of care required for participants that goes beyond the rehearsal room floor. “Care for us at Mixit means commitment well beyond the creative activities in the floor. It's about supporting each individual holistically. This is different for everyone - it may require mentoring around family relationships, exploring and supporting career options, walking beside individuals when they stumble…To make a meaningful difference and walk the talk of truly empowering young people once creativity opens doorways it's critical that the support doesn’t stop when the creative engagement ends but CARE remains steady and consistent for the whole person.”

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A strong values system sits behind the work Mixit does. Mixit’s tree of values include: Respect, Dignity, Safety, Growth, Identity, Support, Courage, Diversity, Potential, Inclusion, Discipline, Belonging, Knowledge, Acceptance, Commitment, Empowerment, Communication, Self-determination, Emergent leadership, Inspiration and dreams, Intergenerational engagement and Manaakitanga.* An example of these principles in action for “emergent leadership” includes youth leaders facilitating each session, working alongside the artists who come in to deliver workshops and projects. Mixit’s projects are about team-work and fun, maintaining a kaupapa* of complete “non-judgemental inclusion”.

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Creativity ignites change in people – intense personal connections can be established, and it is an outlet for expression which can uncover personal stories and experiences from participants. Director Wendy Preston notes it is important for artists engaged to facilitate workshops to know where their professional boundaries stop, and where external networks need to be accessed. Therefore, it is an essential aspect of care to have a network of external expertise surrounding the creative engagement.

RESOURCES

To learn more, or for more information please see:

Definitions:

A Māori concept that refers to the process of showing respect, generosity and care for others.

In this context "kaupapa" means subject, a topic, a plan or purpose which acts as a base or foundation.

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