December 21, 2023
As we work to develop next year’s Assembly, focussing on Young People and Education, we’ve been learning from some wonderful exemplar projects. This month, a group from Sustainable South Hams visited the Harbour House Gallery in Kingsbridge to view the amazing exhibition by their young curators and to find out more about co-creating with young people from Dr Beth Richards, who headed up the project.
‘The Great Turning: Tidal Signals, Tidal Cycles’ exhibition at Harbour House was the culmination of a fantastic collaboration with a group of sixth form students at Kingsbridge Community College, who worked with artists to create a series of workshops exploring the natural world.
We found this project to be hugely inspiring in considering how Sustainable South Hams could tailor our upcoming Assembly to support local community groups wanting to work with young people. Beth talked us through the concept of co-creation which, in this context, empowers young people to engage with their communities and with environmental issues in a way that feels meaningful to them.
This sparked a great discussion on the many options for developing the Assembly. One well-timed element is the introduction of the government’s new policy, Sustainability and climate change: a strategy for the education and children’s services systems. This offers a strong framework for schools and those wanting to support schools.
Our aims, developed from the day’s discussion, centre around: bridging gaps between community groups and educational settings & support building relationships; telling stories of positive action already happening around the South Hams; and clarifying what the new Government strategy means for schools, highlighting potential for collaboration and partnership with community groups.
The Assembly will be aimed at community groups, focussing on success stories and building relationships. Beyond this, it will sit within a wider project area around widening participation for young people and co-creating what this might look like. We very much hope to include input from young people about projects that they have been involved in.
We’re really looking forward to the Assembly and to learning more ourselves as we continue to develop this exciting event. A small group of individuals with a wide range of expertise are helping us with this, but we’d love to hear from anyone with relevant experience who would like to support us: email info@sussh.org if that’s you!