Drum Atweme

Drum Atweme is an initiative of Tangentyere Council's Caylus Youth Services program. It's drumming group made up of young people from town camps in Alice Springs. The group was established in 2004 and has about 30 core performers, with another 100 students participating in drumming lessons each week. Almost all public events in Alice Springs and many conferences held in Alice Springs include a performance by this popular group.

Purpose

The Drum Atweme group engages young people from Town Camps in Alice Springs, who often experience boredom, depression, low self confidence and exposure to violence and substance abuse.

This project enables young people to be part of a positive and publicly popular activity. This has strong benefits in enabling the young people to realize that they can achieve public recognition for their abilities and talents.

Activities

The Drum Atweme project involves the following specific activities and approaches:

• Weekly lessons in music skills for groups of young people during school term.
• Public performances by Drum Atweme group at parades, conference openings, festivals and other public events in Alice Springs and elsewhere.
• Making and maintaining the instruments that they use.

The strategies on which this range of activities are based include:

• A model of early intervention based on working with young people 6 to 18 years of age to develop personal, social and drumming skills, mentoring them as individuals and members of a group, and supporting them to be role models and teachers of other young people.
• A structured environment for participants to learn tolerance, acceptance, communication and negotiations skills.
• Diversion from sniffing and related behaviour with their peers.
• All participants must have regular attendance at school to participate in Drum Atweme.