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Many of the most important and memorable lessons that we learn aren't taught in classrooms. Rather, they live in experiences that we can only learn through our environments, relationships, and challenges. By interacting with my peers, I learned that many of them chose to express these lessons through written and visual media, but their creative talents went unnoticed. It was hard for them to gain recognition, because many publications were extremely selective/competitive, or they were restricted to certain age groups and/or nationalities. This led them to feel demotivated and abandon their creative passions. Hence, I started Unclassroom. It combines these two observations, encouraging youth to introspect and learn more about themselves, while also helping them be more empathetic towards other people's lives, and helping them develop creative thinking abilities.
In practice, Unclassroom is a digital platform where young people can submit and publish original creative works, like poems, short stories, blogs, essays, drawings, short films, and photographs, that are inspired by their lived experiences. Submissions are reviewed through accessible guidelines that prioritize empathy, tolerance, creativity, and authenticity over "perfection".
Selected works are published on the Unclassroom website, Instagram account, and/or LinkedIn account, and themed submissions are curated into digital magazines, allowing contributors to get their work shown to a wider audience. Beyond publication, we encourage reflection by highlighting how seemingly "mundane" experiences shape understanding and growth.
The platform is supported by an editorial team and a social media, alongside a digital presence, tri-annual theme releases, and community guidelines that ensure that we foster inclusivity and collaboration. This allows for beginners with no prior exposure to submit a piece, receive recognition, and feel empowered.
Unclassroom has been spreading through youth networks and social media. Calls for submissions and published works are shared via the Instagram and LinkedIn accounts, as well as through Discord forums, allowing the project to organically reach young people who wish to get published. Contributors often repost their published pieces through their own social media accounts, helping Unclassroom grow through engagement. This organic growth reflects the community-driven nature of Unclassroom.
Thus far, we have launched our first magazine issue, entitled "Things I Can't Google", exploring lessons that youth have learned, not from school or an online source, but rather from their own lived experiences. This reflects Unclassroom's purpose and values, and has served as a valuable addition.
Submissions for the "general" category (not theme-based) are open all year-round, and we welcome youth to submit any form of creative work, as long as it demonstrates reflection, originality, and creativity. Theme-based submissions are open three times a year, and these submissions must effectively capture the theme and contribute to fostering open-mindedness.
If you would like to contribute without submitting, we welcome you to join the volunteer team, and become part of the social media, editorial, or outreach team. You may DM us through Instagram or LinkedIn, or send us an email to express your interest.
Regardless of how you'd like to contribute, we encourage you to follow us on our social media accounts! We also invite you to be a part of our Discord server, which brings around 20 young people from 8 different countries together.
