What is The Other~Wise Summer School?

Welcome to The Other~Wise Summer School, a free yearly programme of creative workshops, cultural activities and critical conversations for ages 15 - 21, developed by The GAP and young people from our youth forum, The Culture Collective. 

Each year we choose a topic that we feel is important and relevant to young people's lives and the world we live in but is lacking in mainstream education, whilst also experimenting with the creation of an inclusive, community-centred and liberatory learning space that seeks to challenge the often oppressive approach of mainstream schooling.

What is this year's theme and content?

This year we will focus on exploring the power of youth voice, asking the questions:

• Why are young people's voices often silenced and ignored?

• What tools can we use to express ourselves and make our voices heard?

• How can we use our voices to build a more caring, connected and just world?

We’ll learn through a range of creative, cultural and collective activities including oral history, spoken word/poetry, singing, conversation, protest art, political literacy skills, audio recording, and more! You’ll also have the chance to help us create podcast episodes documenting the project that can be shared and listened to by other young people around the world.

When will it take place?

Monday 18th August - Friday 22nd August

We ask that you commit to participation in the school for the whole week, for the dates & times listed below:

Who can take part?

• Any young person aged between 15 - 21 who lives in Birmingham
• You'll need to be able to attend for the full week
• No prior experience or knowledge is needed
• We especially welcome young people who maybe haven't had the best of times in education, for whatever reason