Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
The ACT Change! programme is a project that works with young people in Tower Hamlets,
11-16. It looks at choice and consequence and it supports young people to understand
themselves a bit better and the world that they're living in.
From the first time I met them, which was when they were selected for the programme
in schools, to then being able to offer another platform for them to be able to step up it's
been a real journey. It's been amazing to see young people from
different schools, who normally probably wouldn't interact or spend any time with each other
let alone go through a creative process which allows them to share their stories and begin
to connect. Individually, they have grown in a lot of
those softer skills, in terms of confidence and being able to interact and communicate
and feel good about themselves. The project was a really nice mix of different
experiences for them. We did a lot of preparatory stuff, drama workshops... quite practical
exploration of identity and place and what those things mean.
The filming itself was a really good mix of getting out there, on the streets, and spending
time with people and in the studio it felt like a proper piece of work. It was their
opportunity to, again, be heard. What was really nice was shaping it and framing
something for them, but then handing it over and saying, this isn't about us, it's about
your stories and it's about what you want to say and how you want to say it.
Through projects like this, getting young people together, brakes down some of those
barriers and actually people to start to go, you know what, yes you are different, you're
from a different place, from a different postcode, but there is a huge amount that we share.