WIREDGOV

Young people, aged 0 – 24 will benefit from The Child Friendly Creative City programme, which launched in Nottingham yesterday (18 June) thanks to £550,000 National Lottery Place Partnership funding. The project also includes match funding from partnering organisations, bringing the total to £1.5 million. 

This transformative three-year project will remove barriers and bring more creative and cultural experiences to more young people in the city. 

Children and young people can expect improved access to museums, theatre and art, through workshops, events and activities. Child Friendly Creative City will amplify young voices, boost creative confidence, and expand engagement with schools and educational settings to provide greater access participation for all. 

It’s a collaboration between twenty-two of the city’s leading arts, culture, education and community organisations. It brings together expertise across education, SEND, mental health, environment, early intervention, community development and creativity and culture. The project will also support Nottingham’s bid to become a globally recognised UNICEF Child Friendly City.

Photo by Lamar Francois, Child standing on a theatre stage

It will be delivered through five key strands:

• LOUD & CLEAR – to create truly youth-led cultural experiences, including local arts festivals, youth takeovers and collaborative summer programmes offering first time creative experiences.
• CULTURAL RUCKSACK – to establish cultural entitlement across all education settings in the city, collaborating with arts organisations and placing young voices at the forefront of decision making.
• CREATIVE TASKFORCE – to provide better training for artists and teachers, while supporting the ‘art of belonging pledge’ for refugee children and developing projects to reflect local heritage, languages and diversity.
• NATURE CONNECTIONS – to improve wellbeing by connecting children with nature, building on local forest school networks, Nottingham Trent University and University of Nottingham environmental research and arts-based nature projects, while linking with other Child Friendly Cities around the world.
• CHILDREN’S FUND – to create a new collective fundraising scheme for children and young people to access arts and culture, using university research to track progress and better understand what children need.

Click here for the full press release