This is the first SPA-funded workshop on Community-Centred Outreach and Participation.

The workshop will be led by Aidan Jolly of Collective Encounters Theatre for Social Change and will feature Jonathon Prasad from the  Global Race Centre for Equality (GRACE) and the Migrant Women’s Drama Group from  4Wings. The event will take place at Liverpool Hope Creative Campus (Shaw St, Liverpool L6 1HP) and will also be accessible online.

This workshop will provide participants with techniques to establish meaningful relationships, collaborate with diverse stakeholders, and design community-centred research initiatives. By understanding local contexts and needs, participants will be better equipped to drive change that resonates with the people they aim to serve.

Members of 4wings/Asylum Link Merseyside  will lead a session discussing the experiences and challenges encountered by individuals seeking asylum, refugees, and migrants. The first part of the workshop will center on introducing individuals with lived experience, exploring their art forms, recent projects, and community efforts to foster inclusivity. Following this, participants of the workshop will engage in a creative activity that will highlight issues faced by local communities, focusing on barriers encountered by those experiencing poverty and strategies to improve project accessibility.

Aidan Jolly will deliver a session on Understanding Place and Community (Spatial Vocabularies of Power/Land Pedagogy).

‘Understanding Place’ is a co-created drama practice that invites participants to articulate tacit, embodied knowledge and lived experience about their communities.

This introductory workshop will use accessible drama techniques to demonstrate how it can create space for asking questions and telling stories about how power works in neighbourhoods, districts and the city around us, and how this affects public health, poverty, planning and opportunity. No experience of drama is necessary, and all experiences are welcome.

Jonathon Prasad will discuss how over the past couple of decades Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi (heritage)* communities living in post-industrial towns in the north of England have become wary of engaging with researchers due to the way in which they have been represented by the mainstream media. 

For many, they have come to be defined in the public imagination by acts of terror, criminal activity, economic marginalisation and high rates of covid infection. This has made the process of building trust and conducting research harder.

Jonathon’s research explores the experience of economic marginalisation amongst these communities in Blackburn and Burnley.  He will share some of the difficulties he has encountered and methods he has used to engage and co-produce research.

Location

Warehouse Theatre (COR001), Cornerstone Building, Liverpool Hope, University, Creative Campus , Shaw Street, Liverpool, L6 1HP

(or  Online )

For in-person attendance, please register here: https://store.hope.ac.uk/product-catalogue/school-of-social-science/events/communitycentred-outreach-and-participation

Or join online: 

Passcode052410

Invite Link

Invite Link https://hope.zoom.us/j/81902123404?pwd=emFoNzc5bGVMN01IbUVlS3kxYWZCdz09 

12:00 – 12:15: Registration and refreshments 
12:15: Welcome from Natalija Atas (PRAN) and Aidan Jolly (Collective Encounters)
12:25 – 13.25: Session 1 (4 Wings Session) 
13:25 – 14.00: Session 2 (Jonathan Prassad, the Global Race Centre for Equality (GRACE),   UCLan)
14:00 – 14:45: Lunch and Networking 
14:45 – 15.45: Aidan Jolly, Collective Encounters 
15:45 – 16:00: Refreshments 
16:00 – 16:45: Discussion and Q & A session
16:45- 17.00: Closing Remarks 

PRAN has planned many more existing projects for 2024! Join us, participate in our activities, and shape the future of PRAN!