Reseña
Time 4 Tea: Resources Pack for Developing Non-Formal Education Activities.
De: Escamilla, Alonso (Editor). BB&R. Salamanca, 2021.
Enlace: https://bit.ly/3HUudLo
Por: Paula Gonzalo Moreno
1
Young people have always been one of the cornerstones of social action, both at the local
and global levels, yet in most cases, they are not given the spaces to speak their minds and
participate. Furthermore, even if they do express their opinions, their message may not
reach the target audience. Thus, young people can not start a change in issues that matter
to them.
Initiatives like Time For Tea offer young people a starting point towards their empower-
ment, because it provides a safe space where children, teenagers, and young adults can fre-
ely discuss topics that are actually important in their environments, and communicate their
ideas to those that have the tools to make a tangible change. Every voice matters, therefore,
Time For Tea promotes diversity in every possible aspect, such as nationality, gender, or
personal background. In order for teachers and youth workers to full these goals and suc-
cessfully carry out a Time For Tea Project, Regionalne Centrum Wolontariatu, Momentum
World CIC, Associazione di Promozione Sociale Joint, and BB&R, have developed a com-
prehensive handbook, divided into seven parts that create a comprehensive framework for
the activities development.
The rst part, which comprises chapters one and two, is devoted to a general explanation
of the process of preparation of the handbook. This included a qualitative and quantitative
analysis in regards to non-formal education and Time For Tea, together with an introduction
to these two concepts, and the target groups for the activities. The second half of this section
explains that the text can be either read together or separately, which allows a more indivi-
dual approach that can comply with different necessities. There is also a brief index of the
four modules that offers an abridged overview of the handbooks’ contents.
Chapter three thoroughly describes all the practical steps to carry out a Time For Tea activi-
ty. The authors start by pointing out the elements required to Prepare the project, such as the
group, the room, and the local stakeholders, which are vital in supporting the youth, emo-
tionally and materially, by providing assets. The “Create” subsection is itself divided into,
on one hand, the facilitation of sessions for children and, on the other hand, for youngsters.
This contributes to developing strategies that tly adapt to the capabilities and concerns of
each age cohort. According to the text, activities that target children encompass handcrafts
and games, with a focus on no adult control and fun, while youngsters’ exercises aim to
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22529/sp.2022.58.06
1
She is a student of the Degree in Global Studies at the University of Salamanca. E-mail
address: gonzalomoreno.paula@usal.es
174 STUDIA POLITICÆ Nº 58 primavera - verano 2022
develop experimental learning, that is, learning by doing, and their sense of responsibili-
ty. For example, the handbook suggests practicing the so-called Theater of the oppressed,
which consists of using corporal expression to promote critical thinking, social action, and
transformation; or other creative workshops such as lmmaking activities that will then
come in handy to share the whole Time for Tea process. The last part of the Step-by-step
chapter refers to the stage in which young people communicate their projects and ideas to
decision-makers, and to how to make the best out of the meeting, to ensure that the message
reaches the audience.
In chapter four, in order to help prepare the activities and monitor their success, the hand-
book incorporates several checklists. These are organized following the step-by-step struc-
ture (Prepare, Create, Communicate). Having a visual way to control each milestone during
the process will make the role of the facilitators, teachers, and youth workers much clearer
and easier to follow. Even though there are fundamental elements that should not be disre-
garded, these are certainly not closed lists, meaning that they are just a guide for the project
development. Thus, they can be modied freely according to the needs of each activity and
group of people.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, social interactions have been restrained world-
wide. Nevertheless, non-formal education has still taken place, adapting to the new circum-
stances. Time for Tea has taken this into account when developing the handbook. Chapters
three and four also include instructions to carry out all the activities in a virtual manner.
The former explains step-by-step how to execute the work, with tips to ensure the proper
functioning of the sessions. These pieces of advice are then part of the check-lists of chapter
four. It is key to constantly keep track of the correct performance of the virtual variation
because, even though platforms such as Zoom or Google Meet allow very diverse virtual
gatherings of people from all around the world or make it possible to develop both soft and
hard skills, the virtual model is a double-edged sword that entails two main problems: rst
of all, it is challenging to have everybody on the same page regarding technical functio-
ning and active participation, and secondly, it leaves out those people that do not have the
resources to access this option. I believe that it is crucial to constantly remark on the latter,
as it can be overlooked in some scenarios, which would impair the search for the openness
of the project.
At rst, Time for Tea might seem like an abstract idea for many educators. That is why
the practical case study presented in chapter ve shows that Time for Tea can be a feasible
and effective activity to give voice to young people. In this chapter, we can look through a
Momentum World publication that illustrates the initiatives of three youngsters from Ne-
therthorpe school in Derbyshire, UK who got the opportunity to present their Time for Tea
projects to two of their local MPs, and to former Minister Nicky Morgan. This can be an
inspiring example to boost youth’s motivation to start their own project.
Time for Tea can also work as a framework to approach young people to complex institu-
tions, so chapter six is dedicated to examining several international initiatives and platforms
that provide guidelines on what goals to achieve and how. The main focus lies on networks
created by the European Union such as Erasmus+ or the European Youth Portal to inform
young people about opportunities in the European realm to promote participation; and also
on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda. The latter is highly intertwined
with Time for Tea due to their broad span of action. A Time for Tea activity can tackle any
of the 17 SDGs or even multiple at the same time. This chapter is crucial to learn what ways
exist to take youth work to a more institutionalized level.
PAULA GONZALO MORENO 175
Finally, in the last section, the authors mention different options that can be used to share
youth’s experiences with Time for Tea. The impact of the projects is directly related to the
number of people that knows about them, thus, linking this with the virtual model, the hand-
book mentions how social media can become a crucial element to spread messages through
audiovisual content effectively and efciently.
In short, this text is fundamental for the correct execution of a Time for Tea project, hence
for the development of youth work and non-formal education. It gathers key points that can
serve as methodological guidelines, yet leaving space for facilitators to adapt the activities
to each specic group and age cohort. The exibility of the activity framework provided
in this text allows teachers and youth workers to help young people express their ideas and
empower themselves. All in all, this handbook represents Time for Tea’s aim to foment
creativity in a very accessible way to enhance diversity and youth social participation.
