Catching up with our Sound and Vision Youth Forum

Looking at intergenerational skill-sharing workshops

Pooja and Samman, two members of the youth forum, have been working with us to develop some workshops with local community centre WomenZone. Still in the early days, we are all looking forward to where their project will go. Here are some fantastic words from Samman:

“WomenZone is a safe place full of comfort and a sense of community for Asian women. I feel like this particular identity is often overlooked, when talking about brown communities we miss their women and the stories they carry with them that get lost. I feel this is a great opportunity to let them speak and tell their stories through their craft and skills that young people like me want to learn but struggle to find the right people and place. This is creating more activities for them to take part in and give opening to more collaborations. We young people also have things we can offer to teach them such as technology, social media and our individual talents—allowing an exchange of talent between generations, building relationships with them, and addressing misconceptions about each other. For example, questioning ‘Why young people are always on their phone?’ allows young people to put their phones away during hands-on sessions.

This is also an opportunity to fill that generational gap between each other through vibrant discussions and mutually beneficial workshops. We are hoping to appreciate talent and allow each other to step into the other person’s world to embrace a different perspective, as well as confidence to approach a different generation. It is a truly exciting journey waiting ahead!”

Translation in Urdu:

یہ تنظیم خواتین کے لیے سکون اور برادری کے احساس سے بھرپور ایک محفوظ جگہ ہے۔ مجھے لگتا ہے کہ اس مخصوص شناخت کو اکثر نظر انداز کر دیا جاتا ہے، جب براؤن برادری کے بارے میں بات کرتے ہیں۔ تو ہم ان کی خواتین کو بھول جاتے ہیں اور یہ کہانیاں گم ہو جاتی ہیں۔ مجھے لگتا ہے کہ یہ ایک بہترین موقع ہے کہ وہ اپنے فن اور ہنر کے ذریعے اپنی کہانیاں بولیں اور سنائیں جو مجھ جیسے نوجوان سیکھنا چاہتے ہیں لیکن صحیح لوگوں اور جگہ کی تلاش کے لیے جدوجہد کرتے ہیں۔ اس سے ان میں شرکت کے لیے مزید سرگرمیاں پیدا ہوں گی۔نوجوانوں کے پاس ایسی چیزیں بھی ہیں جو ہم انہیں سکھانے کے لیے پیش کر سکتے ہیں جیسے کہ ٹیکنالوجی، سوشل میڈیا، اور ہماری انفرادی صلاحیتیں۔ نسلوں کے درمیان ٹیلنٹ کے تبادلے کی اجازت دینا، ان کے ساتھ تعلقات استوار کرنا اور ایک دوسرے کے بارے میں غلط فہمیوں کو دور کرنا۔ مثال کے طور پر، ‘نوجوان ہمیشہ اپنے فون پر کیوں رہتے ہیں؟’ اور نوجوانوں کو سرگرمیوں کے دوران اپنے فون کو دور رکھنے کی اجازت دینا۔یہ بات چیت اور فائدہ مند ورکشاپس کے ذریعے ایک دوسرے کے درمیان اس فاصلے کو ختم کرنے کا موقع ہے۔ ہم امید کرتے ہیں کہ ہم دوسروں کی دنیا میں قدم رکھ سکتے ہیں اور اعتماد کے ساتھ ایک مختلف نسل تک پہنچنے کے لیے اعتماد حاصل کر سکتے ہیں۔ یہ واقعی ایک دلچسپ سفر ہے جو ہمارے سامنے منتظر ہے۔

Developing a gallery film: Lifecycle of a TV

The Youth Forum has been working closely with our New Media team to develop a film for the new Sound and Vision galleries. Over the past year, they have visited filming locations while discussing the issue of technology waste, focusing on screens and televisions. Last August, the forum spent the day at areera, an ultramodern screen recycling centre in West Yorkshire, getting the full tour. Since then, they have been researching tech waste, analysing storyboards and writing scripts. In July, they will be helping with the filming, taking on tasks such as narrating, directing, camera operating and lighting.

Giving their expertise as young people

Gallery representation

Events programming

The Youth Forum had an idea generation session about events for young people, which birthed the idea of a workshop with WomenZone. We also had ideas for fancy dress balls, theatre shows and tech demos, which we will be looking at closer to the museum opening. We used LEGO to help build some of the ideas for events. The LEGO is a recreation of what a youth forum member imagined a gift shop at their event would look like.

Interactive testing

Artist testing with our resident artist who will help to install an interactive exhibition for Sound and Vision, the Youth Forum members were able to try out a prototype and gave some valuable feedback, such as how young people react to their image being projected onto a big display.

And that’s what the youth forum have been up to! They’ve been involved in a wide range of aspects of the museum and the Sound and Vision galleries, and not only have they really enjoyed it, but the museum has been getting really valuable insights from our members.

This is just a glimpse of what the Youth Forum have been up to across 30 sessions, and we’re looking forward to more.