34 Chicago Groups Form Hive Network To Engage Kids In Innovative Learning; New Funding Supports Expansion

CHICAGO, Nov. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an innovative partnership to help Chicago youth develop the skills and creative confidence needed to thrive in our digital economy, 34 local organizations are participating in the Chicago Hive Learning Network. This creative collaboration is set to expand as a result of $2.2 million in new support announced today by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in partnership with the Burberry Foundation, which also adds its digital expertise. The new funding will enable the Hive to develop additional learning opportunities for Chicago teens in libraries, museums, schools, and arts venues in neighborhoods across the city.

Organizations in the Hive work to engage youth in learning that is based on their interests and helps them develop necessary 21st century skills. The ability to think creatively is now established as one of the most critical skills a young person can have in order to thrive in the workplace and society today and in the future. Yet, despite growing consensus around the need to cultivate the next generation of creative thinkers, formal education systems have been insufficiently focused on this challenge. Increasingly, critical learning will take place both in and out of school, and will draw more directly on relevant and exciting content and experiences that harness the best of what digital tools, design thinking, and real world mentors have to offer.

Grants of $1.7 million and $500,000 from the MacArthur and Burberry foundations respectively are managed by a special fund created for Hive activities at The Chicago Community Trust.

Examples of current and future Hive Learning Network initiatives include -