Thulani Maluleka is a former PULSE participant from South Africa who has been leaving in Norway for four years now and he has been a participant twice in the project. Thulani has been very helpful to the project in Norway, now he will work closer than before with PULSE, as he will be part of the inclusion team in the NMF. The NMF has received funding from the Kulturrådet (Norwegian Art Council) to train Thulani Maluleka in administration and inclusion fieldwork as NMF is an administrative organization. Thulani has been working with kids for so many years, with his leadership skills, it is easy to fill involved in his sessions. Thulani has been part of our FeriePULSE project (holiday program) almost since it was establish up until the last one we had. Which makes him more experience and competent in running these holidays projects.

The main goal for Kulturrådet’s funding is to expand diversity in the Norwegian culture or the artistic perspective. One of our goals in PULSE is to improve the imbalance of the past by including more children from low-income areas and Linguistic minorities. The PULSE team is really looking forward to work with Thulani and create the more inclusive learning environment in the banding movement in Norway. PULSE in Norway, together with the NMF inclusion department, are really committed to develop a culture of inclusion because we really understand that people do not just feel different, they need to be fully involved and feel that their voices are heard.

PULSE is working very hard in enhancing our Activity library (folder used to archive our activities, mind games and team building games) that can be used as a tool to create a more inclusive learning environment in the banding movement. We aim to distribute the activity library to as many bands as we can. These activities will help in terms of making the kids feel a sense of belonging and mastering, as they do not require any language or physical strength competency. These activities can be challenging to everyone and it teaches us how much we need each other. Many guidelines in PULSE focuses on staying together all the time, respect other people’s space and voice.

written by Chief Zwane

Photos by Dennis Mashabane