ABOUT US
About Active Skills
Active Skills began in 2018 with two educators, a circle of parents and one shared belief: young people grow best when they are trusted with real responsibility.
Our story
Education that touches the heart, the mind and the hands
Active Skills is a community impact organisation in Hanoi, Vietnam. We nurture young people’s personal growth and interpersonal skills, helping them discover their potential, manage themselves and their learning, find balance in life and grow into leaders who serve their communities.
Deirdra Hawkins and Chu Thị Vân Anh shared a conviction that education in Vietnam could be warmer, more practical and more connected to the world beyond school. With a group of parents who felt the same, they created a small community in Hanoi where young people could use English to explore ideas, take on projects and discover what they cared about.
That community has grown into Active Skills. Our approach draws on the experiential philosophies of Rudolf Steiner and John Dewey, and on Asset-Based Community Development: we begin with the strengths young people already have, and learn by doing, reflecting and sharing.
Our role is to support, not to instruct. Students run the community: learn together, play together, do together, grow together. Parents advise as partners.
Vision
Where we are going
A community where young people transform from within, growing into the most authentic version of their true selves, and serve their communities to create values that last.
Mission
How we get there
We walk beside each young person on a learning journey built around their strengths: helping them discover who they are, transform the way they think and act, and grow into leaders who serve, creating meaningful values for life together with families, schools and communities.
What we value
Respect for difference
Equality and inclusion are where we start, not something we add later.
Talent and character
We look for what is unique in each young person and nurture the character to use it well.
Self-understanding
Young people learn how they think, learn, rest and recover.
Real-world experience
Service with communities teaches what no textbook can.
Confident English
English that joins social and academic skills, used for real purposes.
Mutual help
Students support one another, and parents advise as partners.
How we are different
Students run the community
Young people lead the projects, events and publications; adults mentor and advise.
One integrated journey
Academic skills, leadership, culture and service woven into one pathway for each person.
Compassion through action
Every young person spends time alongside communities who are often left out.
Support for the whole family
Mentoring, coaching and consultation for parents as well as students.
Education should touch the heart, the mind and the hands.
Active Skills