The Madeleine Project has been developed to offer teenagers the opportunity to escape from their everyday 21st century environment and find a fun way of building skills to deal with serious issues.
We do this in two ways. Firstly, we bring young adults to a residential retreat for five days, away from everyday distractions, to enable them to think on their own and to develop THEIR skills – there is no one tool to fix all things. Secondly, we explore solutions with fun. We know teens learn like sponges when they are in an environment where they can laugh at themselves and learn with others in a safe environment. Our structured activities allow them to find solutions to their everyday problems through education and humour.
The key triggers of stress on our teenagers are well understood: fast paced lifestyle, social media/technology, peer pressure, brain development and lack of self-care and self respect. Teenagers understand these issues but aren’t equipped with the tools and self-confidence to overcome these issues.
The Madeleine Project works with teenagers to provide them with an understanding of each trigger and an opportunity to explore the best strategies to support their mental and physical health. This is done through fun activities, performance and group discussions.
The name ‘Madeleine Project’ was inspired by a series of seven novels written by Marcel Proust. The narrator’s account of how the innocent past, locked in forgotten childhood memories, is revitalised by the scent of a madeleine biscuit dipped in tea. We want to create madeleine moments for everyone by taking them back to an age of innocence when life’s stresses were unknown elements of the future.
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