UK Youth: Oldham youth and community resilience
Because of our work: UK Youth secured additional funding for further related activities and for more work with Bolton Theatre.
Oldham has been identified as one of the least integrated communities in the United Kingdom and its divisions were a key contributory factor to the riots of 2012. The issue of integration has been felt most in schools and among young people, where levels of mistrust and racial tension are high.
UK Youth was funded by the Big Lottery Fund to work with young people from both communities through the Octagon Theatre, Bolton. The project raised their awareness of the impact of racism and distrust. The young people worked together to understand each other’s points of view and to explore the impacts of community segregation. They investigated ways in which bridges could be built between Oldham’s communities.
The young people who took part in the programme developed a play which told the story of Oldham’s riots from both communities’ points of view.
Hall Aitken was commissioned by UK Youth to evaluate the project.
Measuring changing attitudes and the role of the arts in community integration
We provided a baseline that measured attitudes at the start and end of the project and illustrated how the young people’s understanding changed as a result of their working together.
We held informal group discussion sessions and used a ‘voxbox’ video booth where people could express their own opinions without any pressure from their peers.
By asking for the young people's views, we were able to show how the group gradually became more at ease with one another as the project progressed.
Our final report for UK Youth and the Theatre highlighted the powerful impact of art on young people in this setting. The report was used by UK Youth to secure additional funding for related activities and additional work with Bolton Theatre.
"This report is excellent and highlights the fiscal opportunities of preventive work with young people”