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�Young People’s Engagements with Heritage: ��Tackling Inequality & Other�Opportunities for Public Policy����

Dr Joshua Blamire & Dr James Rees (ICRD)

Rob Elkington (Arts Connect)

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21st June 2023

10.15-11.30

PPP Conference 2023: Justice during Crisis

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  • A lack of robust evidence regarding young people’s engagements with heritage, particularly that which is place-based and extra-curricular

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  • Growing recognition that heritage spaces need to be more diverse and democratic

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  • Additional urgency provided by the UK Government’s Levelling Up White Paper

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  • What are the broader societal benefits that arise from engagements with heritage?

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Research Context

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Case Studies

  • Hope Streets (Manchester/North West)

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  • Ignite Yorkshire (Leeds)

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  • Bright Sparks/Wild Sparks (North Yorkshire)

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  • Nacro Boston (Lincolnshire)

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  • Stand Out (Burnley)

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  • Connecting with Yemeni Elders’ Heritage (Liverpool)

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  • Adventurers History Club (East London)

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Young People’s Showcase

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Key Findings

  1. Personal Development

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  • Knowledge
  • Interpersonal skills e.g., increased confidence, communication skills, critical thinking, empathy, resilience, independence, teamwork, and leadership

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“feeling more confident talking with strangers”

“gaining confidence [and] meeting friends”

“helping me to explore my identity”

“develop [my] public speaking skills”

“my favourite part of the activities is the opportunity to learn new skills”

“I went to the JobCentre, and they were surprised at how much I did at all these events!”

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  • Having the opportunity to work alongside adults
  • Learning about jobs and other opportunities within the heritage sector

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Key Findings

  1. Personal Development
  2. Pride in Place

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  • Having the opportunity to learn more about the place they live and the chance to re-interpret and re-present the ways in which that place is understood

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  • Stand Out explores the hidden LGBTQ+ histories which reflect social diversity within Burnley

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  • Connecting with Yemeni Elders’ Heritage has invited young people to forge new ideas about identity and belonging for young Yemenis in Liverpool

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“to connect with Yemen”

“share my Yemeni culture with others”�“to connect with new people”

“feel closer to the community”

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‘Pride in place’ entails restoring “a sense of community, local pride and belonging, especially in those places where they have been lost”

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(HM Government, 2022: xviii)

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Key Findings

  1. Personal Development
  2. Pride in Place
  3. Social Inclusion & Social Cohesion

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  • Participating in heritage programmes can help those involved to confront barriers that lead to social exclusion, and can also make telling contributions towards building strong cohesive communities

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  • The Adventurers History Club drew on the intercultural and intergenerational potential for heritage

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  • Stand Out learning about “the trials and tribulations that the LGBTQ+ community faced on the path to equality”

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“What have I got out of coming here? A feeling of belonging, acceptance and inclusion. When I was younger, you were isolated if you were interested in something ‘different’”

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(Bright Spark, age 23)

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Key Findings

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(1) Developing individual skills

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(2) Trust, pride, participation and ownership

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(3) Bridging communities

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(4) Tackling regional inequalities

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“I’m a bit of a home bird. I do like sort of living around this area, and I’ve got my family here […] I grew up with all this history and heritage around me that I can’t really imagine going somewhere else. It sounds like really old-fashioned to say but I can’t imagine going somewhere that’s not industrial because I’ve always lived and worked in this area [and] that sort of old industry is very much part of all the history. I’ve learnt about it and not having that would be a bit strange, and I think that’s why I’d like to stay in this area”

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Key Findings

  1. Personal Development
  2. Pride in Place
  3. Social Inclusion & Social Cohesion
  4. Tackling Regional Inequalities

(5) Opportunities & Challenges for Public Policy

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  • Opportunities to explore identity and to promote alternative perspectives

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  • There are opportunities and challenges for co-production

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  • There is scope to further democratise heritage spaces

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  • There is scope for future partnership-working

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  • There is real potential to connect with social prescribing agenda

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Recommendations

(1) Young people should be invited to explore aspects of their own heritage and should be engaged in the coproduction of activities from the outset

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(2) Focus not only on youth outcomes but families, neighbourhoods, communities, schools, and other stakeholders. In particular, approaches should embrace both the intercultural and intergenerational aspects of heritage activities

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(3) Evaluate activities according to consistent patterns of measuring and reporting alongside developing a publically and remotely accessible national central archive. This resource will improve decision-making and accountability, better grow the evidence base, and support further research into new areas

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(4) Activities should demonstrate commitments to partnership-working – how will they work with non-heritage organisations to share learning, build community capacity, and ensure that the wider societal benefits of the programme are maximised

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Further Information

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