Developing creativity, confidence, knowledge & skills through arts and culture.
"Very often The Arts is seen as an add-on, but access to arts and culture is a critical part of a young person's development: in finding a voice, working together, expressing individuality and connecting to a place..."
Hilary Cox Condron, Activate Project Co-ordinator
Initiated to address the inequalities faced by young people in an otherwise affluent and highly educated city, through creative workshops delivered by cultural practitioners at venues across Cambridge, ACTIVATE works to develop young people’s skills, confidence and awareness.
Throughout the new sixteen-week ACTIVATE programme, the year 7 Coleridge College cohort explored the cultural offer in Cambridge and workshopped with theatre directors, film makers, curators and visual artists. This short 'Survival Guide to Year Seven' was developed through exploring the Snow White script, the students' own experiences of feeling lost in
unknown territory and the messages they would like to pass on to year 6 students as they prepare for secondary school.
Through experiences of exploring and enjoying the locality in which they live, ACTIVATE supports and inspires young people starting secondary school to become active citizens and young community leaders. This short film shows how ACTIVATE has enriched and enhanced the lives of several year 7 & 8 students, attending Coleridge Community College, over a two year journey. Their experience demonstrates how vital it is that all young people have the agency to access arts and culture in the area in which they live.
Filmed and edited by Colin Stevens.
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“I used to think Cambridge was really small. I didn’t even know that there was a thing called The Junction, or the museums. But now I know Cambridge is bigger in my mind and in reality.”