This project aims to bring together communities in Leicester by pairing up two schools and showing " young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength"(Maya Angelou)
Schools or colleges that wish to get involved will provide basic demographic data and they will be paired with a school with a different intake. The pupils/students, staff and parent volunteers will spend a day at each other's school working, eating and playing together. The links can be embedded further with more visits, letter writing or the use of IT eg email, video, social media.
The friendships made between staff and pupils will contribute to a sense of shared identity reflecting the words of Jo Cox ......"we are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us".
What we'll deliver:
- Challenging stereotypes
- Friendships across communities
- Community cohesion
Why it's a great idea:
Young people in Leicester may never meet others who live just a few miles away in their day to day lives. This project offers a way to break down these barriers and through the simple act of working or playing together stereotypes and prejudices can be challenged. It provides our young people with an opportunity to see other areas of their city and realise that "different" people are actually much more like them once they have got to know them.
Steps to get it done:
- exhibition of paired projects displaying photos and shared work
- successful pairing of six schools
This project builds links between communities in Leicester and allows young people to realise how much they have in common. But how will they know this unless they meet?
