Mayfield Arts Newbury House Youth Seminars
Resource Pack
Youth Perspectives Seminar Youth Visions Seminar Exploring creative youth art and Dialogue between youth and local development education authority departments and city methodologies for use in formal councillors to explore the visions of and non-formal education youth and the opportunities with the sectors. Cork City Council.
June 16th & 17th www.youthperspectives-youthvisions.com Mayfield Arts Newbury House, Old Youghal Rd, Mayfield, Cork Ph: 00 35321 4530434 mayfieldarts@gmail.com www.mayfieldarts.org
Youth Visions
Camden Palace Hotel Cork
June 21st Millenium Hall, Cork City
Youth Visions Seminar June 21st Millenium Hall Cork City
Dialogue between youth and local authority departments and city councillors to explore the visions of youth and the opportunities with the Cork City Council This seminar created a space for dialogue between young people and local authority departments and councillors about how we can incorporate and develop youth visions within the Cork City Council. The seminar included case studies by youth to council representatives about their projects that promote global citizenship and understanding between youth from different cultures. Through the round table discussions the seminar provided opportunities to explore a vision of city as a city of local and global citizens with participation of youth and council representatives. Seminar Presentations & Speaches Maeve Dineen - Community Arts Officer, The Arts Office Tony Power - Social Inclusion Officer, Community & Enterprise Comahirle na nOG Jessica Carson from Mayfield Arts Newbury House Lord Mayor Darragh Murphy Panel Discussion Participants Chaired by Eimear McNally from the Irish Development Education Association Lord Mayor Darragh Murphy Councillor John Buttimer Councillor Kieran McCarthy Councillor Chris O’Leary Councillor Jim O’Donovan
Youth Visions Seminar Millenium Hall Cork City
Graphic Harvesting Documentation Youth VIsions Seminar MIllenium Hall
Feedback from the round-table discussions Youth Visions Seminar MIllenium Hall
Arts & Culture Table
Recommendations and questions by youth attending the seminar regarding the new arts strategy: How will the youth voice be heard? The arts office could arrange talks with community sectors working with youth. Social networking could be used to connect with young people. Ask youth representatives to attend arts committee meetings. Arrange youth consultations.
General recommendations and questions by youth attending the seminar: We would like to see more areas for graffiti and have it appreciated as an artform and not vandalism. We want to do workshops in graffiti and have access to showcase it in outdoor spaces in the city. We want more opportunities to try different art forms. I found out about Mayfield Arts because they came to our school to do workshops, so I think it’s important for art centres to link with schools. We wouldn’t have access to the arts without Mayfield Arts, so perhaps more opportunities and funding needs to be given to give young people more access. We think empty spaces in the city should be used for arts, like the Camden Palace Hotel. Does the arts office give support to individual teenagers under 18 to do art projects or exhibitions? Can we apply for funding? How do we apply? We would like more information on how to get involved in acting/theatre/drama projects. We would like to have our voice heard by the arts office through informal chats or consultations. This could lead to interaction on a continual basis where we would have a represenative on the arts committee meetings. We think the city council should support youth arts and organise a youth arts festival or project and have it shown in a gallery or public building in Cork. The City Council should organise opportunities for young people to show art, not just to consume art. We would like the galleries in Cork City, for example the Gluxman and the Crawford, to show different types of art and change over exhibitions more regularly. This includes showing youth arts in the galleries in Cork. We would like to interact with students in Crawford and other art colleges more and learn about what it is like to study art in College. We would like them to come to our schools and chat to us. Sometimes we don’t know what is happening in the arts in Cork. The arts office and art organisations could reach us through giving information to schools, putting information in cinemas and places where we hang out, and by using social networking sites like Facebook.
Feedback from the round-table discussions Youth Visions Seminar MIllenium Hall Public Spaces & Resources Table Youth-friendly Indoor Spaces Where can young people hang out? We would like to see more welcoming neutral indoor spaces for young people. Ideal hanging out environment: space to do homework, music, cheap food, comfortable, somewhere that is teenage friendly where teenagers have some control and also some leadership and guidance. Youth friendly rather than youth only. Youth cafes could be advertised on Facebook. Is there funding to organise a youth group and to pay young people to co-run it? A place for young people to be themselves, e.g. youth cafe and resource centre. It is important to create a balance between leading and enabling young people.
Sports , Amenities & Public Spaces We would like more sports facilities, especially areas for dance, cycling and swimming. More art Centres, more amenities and more green spaces. Young people should be allowed to use public spaces more often. More indoor and outdoor free activities. Using indoor facilities is usally too expensive. School are often empty and available during the summer and evenings. The spaces and facilities are there ready and waiting! Make young people more aware of public spaces they can use through advertising and social networking. Action: identify a space or idea for a space for young people and put forward a proposal to the city council.
Feedback from the round-table discussions Youth Visions Seminar MIllenium Hall
Social Inclusion Table People affected by Social Exclusion Old people, the homeless, races of people, religions, people who dress in a certain style, people of certain sexual orientations, teenagers, the unemployed, alcoholics and drug addicts, people with certain political viewpoints, and people with dissabilities. It is important to breakdown preconceived notions through raising awareness. People in society must step outside of their comfort zone. Roads to Social Inclusion Become part of something, e.g., art, dancing or drama. Involve yourself in your community. and connect with others. Music can be used as a platform for different people from all around the world to come together. Raise awareness though schools and youth clubs, for example peer education programmes. Learn from other cultures and communities. Y.S.I. – Young, Social, Innovators RAPID community meetings can be utilized as a forum for young people to express themselves. Young people and Politics We need more organisations like Comhairle na nOg. How do young people get involved in Comhairle na nOg? Having knowledge on how the political system works can lead to inclusion. Do we have access to speak directly to councilors? Is their door always open to us? CSPE in schools. We don’t think it teaches us about the political system nationally or locally. Action: Develop a leaflet or resource targeting people who are turning 18 about the political system in Ireland, how it works, and how to vote.
Feedback!from!the!round-table!discussions! Youth!Visions!Seminar!MIllenium!Hall! Environment & Fairtrade Table Fairtrade Cork is a fairtrade city but council buildings don’t use fairtrade products. ‘Beyond Fair Trade’ – link directly with producers in third world countries. Action: write to the manager of the city council; ask are the city council still committing to fairtrade even though they don’t use fairtrade products in council buildings? Recycling Why aren’t manufacturer’s reducing packaging? Is it due to ‘Repack’? ‘Repack’ is unfair to consumers. Action: To the Minister for the Environment: Why are you using Repack to opt out of reducing packaging? Can individuals do enough? Is there too much individual responsibility? ‘Polluter pays’ – put charges on manufacturers and not just on consumers. Paying for plastic bags has been good for the environment. The next step is to ban plastic bags! We want to see more bins in local areas and better maintenance and recycling facilities. School waste must be recycled. The city council must lead the way and provide incentives for businesses to recycle. Water – How much do we have? Action: There is potential to create jobs in environmentally friendly practices such as recycling. How can we create and promote these jobs? School gardens Creating school gardens for the healthy living strategy. Why aren’t we utilizing this space to promote environmentally friendly practices? School allotments could be organised by a partnership between the city council, schools and local producers.