Creative YOU

Creativity is everywhere. Opportunity is not.     

We are part of the solution. The secret is in our name. Every year Creative Youth Network gives thousands of young people a taste and thirst for the arts and culture and the joy, life-skills and opportunity they bring.   

But we want more.   

Creative YOU is our campaign showcasing how we, you and the engaged, emerging and amazing young creatives we support, come together. 

We want to reveal how, together, we are ambition, quality, cultural democracy and social mobility in action. 

Every young person deserves the right to access creativity and development opportunities in the creative and cultural industries.

It all starts with education.

If all young people have access to creative subjects in school, then talented young people from all backgrounds can pursue their passion, develop crucial skills needed in so many industries and improve their wellbeing.


1. Pledge

Add your name and join the many people passionate about bringing creativity back into our schools.   

With all the pledges we’ll be reaching out to headteachers in Bristol and the South West. We hope this will encourage local academies to give more space to creativity in their curriculum.  

Bristol, being the creative city we know and love, can pave the way for other regions to do the same, showcasing the true value of creativity.  

PLEDGE 

 

2. Sign up

Join us by signing up to our newsletter where we share best practice of how to support young people. 

sign up 

 

3. Find out more

Join us by reading and sharing our CreativeYOU report which shows how our work brings opportunities for creative expression and enables young people to explore their talent, regardless of background or circumstance.  

Download our Creative YOU report

 

In September, we commissioned Noble Development Consultancy (through Jendayi Serwah) to carry out a youth and community consultation in Barton Hill. We have been looking at developing work in the area, as part of our Youth Investment Fund (YIF) programme, supported by the Big Lottery Fund and the DCMS. This piece of work is crucial in order to make sure we meet the needs of the local community. 

Find out what young people in Barton Hill think about youth services in the area: 

SPEAK UP! SPEAK OUT! : BARTON HILL VOICES (for young people) from Firstborn Studios on Vimeo.

Who did we consult? 

  • 128 young people completed questionnaires 
  • 155 young people were engaged in total through questionnaires and events
  • 26 adults completed questionnaires 
  • 51 adults engaged in total
  • 16 organisations consulted

How did we reach out in the community?

We engaged the local community through events, meetings, questionnaires and group work. We held a Mums and Daughters Event at Barton Hill Settlement. We also engaged Year 6 Pupils at Barton Hill Academy and organised an open access event, Speak Up, Speak Out, in December.

   

   

Main findings 

The key issues that both young people and adults talked to us about were:

  • concerns about anti-social behaviour
  • there is a desire for more opportunities for young people to explore and broaden their horizons beyond Barton Hill
  • girls work needs more attention
  • girls and boys work around positive attitudes, language and interactions are needed
  • people would like more activities at weekends and during school holidays

   

Recommendations 

*Girls work for older mid teen girls is in need of attention or expansion as there is a significant feeling by women and young girls that they are marginalised.

*Gender based work is needed to tackle a growing lack of respect of girls by boys and to some extent girls who do not have a positive self-image.

*Youth work, activities at weekends and school holidays are in short supply but there is a need. Resources that attempt to fill these gaps would be most welcomed alongside opportunities for young people to experience life outside the area and/or the city. Current open access activities are mainly provided in open spaces. Consideration should be given to having an indoor open access provision.

*There is wide consensus that young people want/need to travel out the area. This was also the view of many organisations that horizons need to be widened. Organisations should meet to discuss how they can collaborate on this to enable young people in the area to leave the city or area at least once a year.

*A collaborative community repair/enrichment project would be a great way to bring people together and at the same time enhance some aspects of the area aesthetically. This has also been mooted within a recent Gaunts Ham Park stakeholders meeting. 

* A round table meeting of all providers, big or small, at least twice a year would go a long way in terms of laying foundations for joint work and more strategic partnership working, both on the ground and bidding together for resources

*Establish a Youth Steering Group to monitor the implementation of recommendations

The steering group should have a scrutiny function and the young people need to be supported to develop leadership skills in this respect. This may work best as a collaborative initiative between providers in the area.

Read the full report 

We'd like to thank Jendayi Serwah for her excellent work. This project is made possible by the Big Lottery Fund and the DCMS through the Youth Investment Fund

How can we help?