Special Feature - Charlie Murphy, Dreams Unlimited - April 2010

One of my main responsibilities in the PYE Global organization is to work with people in various parts of the world to increase their capacity to connect with young people in a more effective and empowering way. It is the part of my work that I enjoy the most because it brings me into contact with others who care about young people - people who have generous spirits and put their caring into action in service of the next generation. The staff and others connected to Dream A Dream are powerful representatives of the kind of people I am talking about.

The training is by definition challenging because the young people we work with face many significant challenges. Enabling young people to transform their lives requires much more than a well-crafted curriculum. It requires people who work with youth to become “social artists” capable of responding in a creative and improvisational way to the needs, challenges and opportunities that young people bring. When I first began this work I had the opportunity to observe and work with a wide variety of youth programs in very diverse communities. The programs that really seemed to be achieving an impact had something in common: the adults and young adults who interacted with the youth were alive to their own creativity, passionate about what life had to offer, and were able to communicate in an authentic way.

One of my main responsibilities in the PYE Global organization is to work with people in various parts of the world to increase their capacity to connect with young people in a more effective and empowering way. It is the part of my work that I enjoy the most because it brings me into contact with others who care about young people - people who have generous spirits and put their caring into action in service of the next generation. The staff and others connected to Dream A Dream are powerful representatives of the kind of people I am talking about.

The training is by definition challenging because the young people we work with face many significant challenges. Enabling young people to transform their lives requires much more than a well-crafted curriculum. It requires people who work with youth to become “social artists” capable of responding in a creative and improvisational way to the needs, challenges and opportunities that young people bring. When I first began this work I had the opportunity to observe and work with a wide variety of youth programs in very diverse communities. The programs that really seemed to be achieving an impact had something in common: the adults and young adults who interacted with the youth were alive to their own creativity, passionate about what life had to offer, and were able to communicate in an authentic way. I believe that real change occurs in the context of relationship and I have witnessed how young people thrive in the company of adults who embody these qualities. I am so impressed by the team that has come together through Dream A Dream and how they are rising to the challenge of developing themselves as “social artists”. My experience in working with the Dream A Dream tells me that unleashing the creative potential of this team will have a far-reaching impact; I am so excited to be part of it. Charlie Murphy Co-Director | PYE Global www.pyeglobal.org