Eafs final report for ht

Holywood Trust Final Report: EAFS: ReCharge Statistical Reporting Template

Activities Delivered Recruitment Event

No. of Sessions delivered

2

13

Specialist Input / Upskilling Sessions

Intern Work Days

32

7

( x 5 Interns)

Average No. of participants No. of individual participants Involved

1525

25+

No. of Sessions delivered

U15

25+

U15

1-25

25+

11

7

11

5

16

Team meetings / Support Sessions

Young Volunteers Induction Days

1525

25+

U15

1525

U15

25+

U 15

15-25

8

6

16

16

6

16

1525

25+

U15

5

9

5

5

U15

1525

22

22

120

100

25+

EAFS festival (approx)

5

25+

15-25

9

Outreach Activities Delivered

3

17

4

U15

1525

5

Team Building Activities

No. of individual participants Involved

Site Visits

1

U15

Average No. of participants

Intern Induction Days

1

25+

44

220

U15

15-25

60

130

60

130

25+

810

810

ACTIVITIES DELIVERED . . .

The following is a list of activities we have delivered via EAFS: ReCharge . . . 

We have undertaken an interactive recruitment process including skills audit and meet and greets / Q&A sessions with EAFS Production Team & Orchestrator.



We have held induction days for Interns which have involved them meeting the wider team delivering the festival – PR specialists; Biosphere co-ordinator; Creative Production Team; Artists; Environment specialists etc. And receiving a holistic and thorough introduction to the desired outcomes, themes, ethos and aesthetic behind EAFS.



We have organised a variety of festival site visits to Morton Castle and surrounding environmental art installation spaces with the interns, which has broadened their understanding of environmental art practice, and the local art sector.



Interns have rebranded EAFS for a young audience by creating the aesthetic, designing posters/flyers etc, and creating a social media strategy which they have began to implement.



Interns have also created and are currently implementing a series of interactive public stunts/outreach activities, and a series of interactive online campaigns to engage their peers / a younger audience with EAFS.



Interns have designed and created content for EAFS website; created and are maintaining EAFS Social Media presence ie EAFS: ReCharge facebook page, Twitter account and Instagram account.



Interns have designed maps for use by audience members at the festival.



Interns have worked closely with EAFS creative team, and have effectively influenced the content and focus of the festival.



Interns have created press releases; organised photoshoots; created PR/Marketing strategies for the festival.



Interns are taking control / supporting co-ordination of event management tasks.



Interns have developed and delivered a Climate Change Academy training session for their peers who want to engage with EAFS as volunteers.



Interns have been working closely with artists, assisting them with the projects that they are delivering as part of the EAFS programme.



Young Volunteers have been inducted into the EAFS world; been upskilled on environmental issues, the ethos and content of EAFS, and given roles / assigned mentors related specifically to their skill set / area of interest in order to allow them to become ‘Ambassadors of Knowledge’ leading up to, during and after the festival.



Young Volunteers and Interns were genuinely involved in every part of the festival delivery; sign making, map making, project planning, marketing & PR, liasing with landowners, booking transport, hosting with international artists, artist liason, running the information point, front of house, car parking, trail building, building the infrastructure, installing artworks, graphic design of posters/flyers/festival newspaper/programme etc, running social media campaigns, health and safety preparations, research, land management, website construction, logistics, liaising with press / photographers, radio interviews, constructing installations, recycling, deconstruction of site infrastructure, guiding walks, first aid, outreach, photographic recording and videography of the weekend, evaluation collation and stat management, report writing.

THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO HAVE BENEFITTED FROM THE EAFS' RECHARGE EXPERIENCE . . .

EAFS successfully recruited young people with a background and interest in the 5 different aspects of EAFS 2015: Visual Art, Communications and Graphics, Project/Event management, PR & Marketing, and Production.

Each of the interns already had at least a small degree of knowledge and/or interest in environmental issues with some commenting that environmental issues was one of their core belief systems, and another who was studying GeoSciences and had lots to teach us - we really could not have attracted a more skilled, dedicated and diverse group of young people, yet they fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle.

In addition to this we managed to attract again a very varied and dedicated group of 16 young volunteers, some of whom completed our EAFS Climate Change Academy (designed and delivered by one of our interns), and who all brought so much enthusiasm, skills, knowledge and interests to the festival that it is difficult to see how it would have been delivered so successfully without them.

As outlined in our original application we hoped to have an additional 10 young people (over the 5 interns) we hoped to engage with, we exceeded this figure as we managed to engage 16 young volunteers who all committed in excess of 20 hours each of their time to help deliver EAFS. Beyond this we managed to reach out further, to more young people, through our Social Media campaigns, public engagement stunts and via peer group connections with our team of young volunteers / interns we managed to attract approx 130 young people aged between 12-25 to the festival, all of whom had not been aware of EAFS prior to this year.

The statistics for EAFS attendance amongst the 12-24 age group during EAFS 2013 was 24, so it is fair to say that we succeeded in making the festival more accessible and appealing to young citizens of the D+G Region, and further afield.

This year we successfully managed to capture more rigorous data which has provided the information and profiles of the public, with specific reference to the younger demographic than in previous years. We gained the majority of this data via an evaluation which was designed, delivered, and analysed by our interns which has given us data which will provide comprehensive information from which to create the next festival.

Although we didn't reach the 4000 target outlined in the original application for overall number of people who benefit from your services or activities, we feel that the young people we did engage with benefitted in a more profound way, with a more quality and impactful experience which is exemplified in the attached comments sheet, and feel this has given us a solid foundation from which to build our engagement with young people in EAFS 2017.

INTERN'S JOURNEY TRACKERS . . .

The EAFS Youth Support Worker charted the progress of the young people through the project, with baseline interviews and post internship interviews, which track their journeys over their summer EAFS experience. This process has also provided qualitative information from their 1-2-1 interviews which highlight their experiences, their learning, their personal development and provide suggestions on how to enhance interns experience for next time.

The results are as follows, and comments from this process are dispersed throughout this report in appropriate sections: Based on a pre-EAFS Baseline 1-2-1 evaluations carried out with interns, and a post EAFS Review evaluation with the Interns the results of the development scales shows that all Interns reporting increased confidence; all Interns showed a much greater sense of belonging their local community; All interns felt that they had had a very relevant experience in relation to their career development; All interns felt they now needed virtually no additional support if they were to continue in their intern role- which was a major increase from the baseline evaluations; All interns felt very employable now after their EAFS experience; 4 out of the 5 interns felt more resilient after their EAFS experience; All 3 out of 5 of the Interns increased their understanding / importance of environmental issues - this is based on the fact that 2 of the 5 were already very knowledgeable on the subject.

EAFS RECHARGE INTERNS' & VOLUNTEERS' FEEDBACK COMMENTS . . .

In line with the outcomes defined in our original application we can demonstrate that the HT funding has benefitted young people in Dumfries and Galloway and that this has made a real difference to their lives is highlighted via their feedback comments . . .

After completing baseline surveys which track their progress/journey with EAFS, and from 1-2-1 development / support sessions we have collated the comments that we feel reveals the impact that EAFS had on the lives of our young Interns/volunteers. The following are a few of the additional comments that cannot be attributed directly to EAFS' defined outcomes / objectives : "Literally life changing! EAFS experience has given me a compass towards hugely successful living."

"It's staggering how much EAFS exceeded expectations."

"EAFS challenged me in many ways, I was always doing something new, meeting new and interesting people."

"I feel that everything in my life now has deeper resonance. I have a new direction and above all purpose in my life."

Comments which reflect that they felt supported to make an active, engaged and effective contribution to the development, and production of a major international arts festival: “I feel like I am gaining real hands on, behind the scenes knowledge and experience of what is practically involved in delivering a festival.”

“I have been surprised by how many of our ideas have been taken onboard and are now part of the festival.”

“It’s amazing that we are getting to work so closely with the EAFS team, working under the guiding hands of these professionals.”

“Seeing the festival come to life week by week based on our input is amazing.”

“It’s been great getting the chance to meet and work with people in high up positions.”

Comments which reflect that through their EAFS experience that they . . .

Gained invaluable work related experience for their futures: “I’m gaining invaluable work experience, I’ve only really worked in call centres up til now.”

“This is the kind of thing I knew I needed to help springboard my career, this project is much bigger than what I usually work on, and its opened my eyes to potential other routes of work for me.”

“I don’t normally work as part of a team, I work in isolation. So I am learning lots about how other people work, and I am enjoying that.”

"Fantastic opportunity to learn new things and work with interesting artists."

"Interesting learning around working relationships, and a great insight into the local arts community."

Built local, national and international networks through involvement in the festival: “I am definitely making lots of great contacts, I’ve already been offered an opportunity for future work in Aberdeen.”

“It was quite a proud moment going into the gallery in Newcastle and saying I am from EAFS festival in Dumfries & Galloway, and they responded really enthusiastically to me.”

Interns with the Minister for the Environment, Aileen MacLeod MSP, and some of EAFS' international artists.

Became ambassadors for themselves, their region and their work interests on an international stage: “This experience is confirming the direction I want to travel within the PR world. It is solidifying my feelings and reconnecting me with why I wanted to do this in the first place – to help change the world, its not about cut-throat corporate PR, it’s about influencing social change for me.”

Gained confidence and experience: “I had to resit my first few years at Uni as I couldn’t keep a focus, but this has really focused me – its allowing me to prove my skills set and prove what I am capable of. Feels like a perfect fit.”

“Being involved in EAFS has made me feel useful.”

“This internship has brought me out of a period of self doubt. I thought I would end up in a dead end job and only doing what I love on the side, but now I’ve been shown that there’s potential for me to make a living at this.”

"I felt a familiarity with the art content and role it had in conversing about issues around climate change, and felt confident communicating, conversing and engaging with people and creating space for this to happen."

"EAFS has given me much more confidence in expressing my opinion."

"I now feel fully appreciated, valued, and assured in my abilities in my role/career choice."

Comments which confirm that EAFS achieved its desired objectives: OBJECTIVE: To be more engaged with the broader concerns that underpin the festival around the series of issues that interrogate and address climate-change.

"Learned alot about the conflict of interests between positive environmental action and economic concerns of local land owners."

“I really thought I got the (environmental) issues, but I now realise how much I don’t know, and I want to learn more.”

“I am now seeing lots of other people’s strategies for managing climate change issues, not just the governments’.”

"Working with EAFS this summer has re-opened my eyes up to climate change, made me feel like I need to do more than just be observant and aware."

"Completely revolutionary, it has been educational but not in a traditional way, it's been an awakening of conscious understanding of environmental issues for me."

OBJECTIVE: To engender a positive spirit and foster a sense that young people are part of an ongoing (and not short-term finite) process and exchange with regards to climate change: "I feel like I have become a champion of climate change issues."

“I feel like I have a personal renaissance going on. It’s inspiring lifestyle changes in me.”

“I knew the basics but EAFS has really sparked my interest in climate change. Working with and learning from Daniel (other intern – geosciences student) has been incredible – I have learnt so much from him already, he’s not condescending and explains it all really well.”

"EAFS is most definitely forward thinking in making young people part of EAFS and projects beyond. Additionally there is also a mutual benefit of information/skill exchange between both young people and connection generations. The team, support network, EAFS and other organisations and individuals as a whole quite clearly highlights how important EAFS regards working with young people." " I feel like all of our (the interns) skills and previous experience were valued by the whole team and everyone worked great together. I feel like we are all an integral part of the team and the future of EAFS will involve us all."

"I see the world in lot more realistic manner, I see that I have something to contribute that can be valued."

OBJECTIVE: To create a solid foundation for extending the ways in which future festivals develop with young people a core part of this i.e. to have a young person join and be a part of the core Project Team for the next again festival.

"I think nothing in traditional education can foster the skills, talent, confidence and instinct that this model has for creating festivals' with young people truly at its centre, leading the way."

"For me personally, working in a team of young people not only allowed us to connect and develop networks with our own age group but also allowed us to connect with other generations and sectors of people. Doing so really makes young people core to the festival, allowing us to feel valued and we are contributing positively. In turn for me, I was able to share EAFS, its values and mission with other people in my age group. Some of the discussions on how young people can be involved in future EAFS

events/projects/etc. that have come out over the summer of building EAFS 2015 were most definitely interesting to be a part of and I’m interested to see where EAFS takes them in the future. " "Interns were nicely matched to managers and were able to learn from each other. I think it might have been easier for me at the beginning if there were proper job descriptions created and our roles were clearly defined within the full team, took me a while to see where I fit in and what was to be done! This is probably completely normal for a new team, I just think I thought EAFS was much more structured from the beginning, in fact as this turned out not to be the case it meant we were able to create our own roles within a dynamic team – that was exciting! Internship programs are a great way to give opportunities to young people, and I also think having a young team is good for the older festival management team too. "

OBJECTIVE: To be meaningfully employed and have a valuable experience that is dynamic, interesting and challenging, and which results in the successful planning, delivery and evaluation of five aspects of the festival in a supportive and professional working environment. see previous comments re this...

"EAFS has definitely been meaningful employment for me, felt I have contributed to an organisation that has relevant interests to my own. EAFS developed and evolved over the summer, was very much an ever changing environment to work in. my internship was challenging in many aspects, making it interesting and was exactly what I needed in an internship/job. Seriously put my skill-set to work, gave me new experiences and was a different aspect of working with design clients and more as being specifically employed within an organisation." " I have been amazed at how much I have gained from the EAFS experience. As one of the older more developed (in terms of employment etc), I thought I might not benefit as much as others but I don’t think this is the case. Has been great making new connections in Dumfries & Galloway which has opened up more opportunities in the future. " Further to these comments, EAFS successfully created employment and active involvement of 5 young people, plus 2 Youth Workers, but also created volunteering opportunities for 16 other young people who all actively engaged their wider networks to get involved in EAFS. This helped to nurture young people who we are now referring to as EAFS Ambassadors who are now fully assimilated with the concept, context of EAFS and have a much greater knowledge and understanding of environmental issues etc, we have definitely created young champions that are part of a global and local discourse around climate change. So much so that the young people are desperate to remain involved with EAFS after the festival ended and are currently exploring potential funding streams, business opportunities for them to collaborate on projects which have directly spun out of EAFS, they are very much continuing to consider, absorb, contribute, lobby, debate, etc in their own day-to-day lives.

There is a resounding and unanimous commitment from the young people to contribute to the 3rd festival, measure the impacts in 2017. We want to change the way they think and behave; a natural outcome of being part of EAFS, but we must find a way to ensure we continue to engage them over the next 2 years and do not lose their enthusiasm and commitment, and are able to utilise their skills, experience and knowledge at the festival in 2 years time - finding projects for them to collaborate on between 2015-2017 has become critically important to the process, as this will allow us to continue to follow their progress post-project and assess the effectiveness of this project methodology for future work, and ensure they are effectively involved in the evolution of EAFS 2017, and involving the young people from this year’s project as mentors/advocates for future projects with young people in EAFS.

OUTCOME: EAFS will build solid relationships with these young people: "The relationships we have developed have brought a sense of belonging and a feeling of family amongst us. I don't want to lose that." " I have met THE best mates I could ever have wished to meet."

"We have definitely developed an inter-generational network that will continue into the future."

"You can't be yourself, until you find your tribe. So glad I've now found mine." " Although EAFS had its stressful moments as any job does especially in the development stage and tight deadlines, the team was always supportive and professional to work in. EAFS felt like a positive organisation to be a part of and work with, and I want more of it."

"Amazing to have a weekend long festival with no music – I might have been a bit skeptical before on how nice this would be but it worked so well and there was atmosphere like no other event I’d been to before. Has opened me up to a new group of people/social group/future opportunities in D&G which is really nice, makes the idea of staying in D&G much more appealing and not just head to Glasgow or Edinburgh for jobs. I feel like we are all an integral part of the team and the future of EAFS will involve us all."

KEY SUCCESSES / OUTCOMES. . .

One of the key questions we have asked is - What do they see differently?: “I now see the art world differently, I am seeing behind the facade. It no longer feels intimidating and elite, I am seeing it’s diversity, and it’s now graspable.”

“The arts approach backed up by hard science is helping me understand environmental issues much better.”

“Feel like I am reconnecting with my home community (locally)- understanding it in a different way.”

"Firstly the way I work and see my work-life balance. Work isn’t everything, making changes to my life to be more in-tune with what I need to be happy. EAFS and this summer of not working full-time have allowed me to explore new interests, ideas and work on taking forward my self-employment. I am also more aware of people and society, more aware of issues going on around me, what’s going on in the world. The need to speak out and stand up for those who can’t. Regained my interest in environmental issues."

“Reconnecting with the landscape has been big for me, it has been like reconnecting with my roots. I felt in a proper place of Zen at Morton.”

"EAFS has completely solidified and evolved my career direction."

“I want to stop working so much. It’s given me some discipline in my life. I now want to disconnect to reconnect, I am living exactly what EAFS is all about.”

One of the major successes of the EAFS Recharge project was the social media campaigns which increased the online reach of EAFS by nearly 100% within 3 months: From when we engaged our PR/Marketing intern who led on the social media campaigns, the EAFS Facebook page grew from 790 Likes to 1,320 Likes. From July 1st until today (22nd September 2015) EAFS' Facebook page has received 115,434 engagements.

Some of the posts attracted a global following, particularly with regards to our social media/public engagement stunts with the Unicorn which went viral, receiving in excess of 55,000 engagements (i.e. views, comments and reshares) around the world from South America, to Australia, to Scandinavia and people across the USA have admired our EAFS Unicorn, and engaged in the world of EAFS. Everyone of those engagements was organic, i.e. EAFS did not pay for Boosts on its Facebook page, or for advertising the EAFS via FB etc, so that is pretty incredible statistics to have achieved. . . It was indeed, as one of the Alive Radio presenters described it: "an internet sensation!"

Our EAFS' Twitter Following grew from 711 to 864, with 3347 Visitors captured, 232 Twitter mentions, and 27,939 Tweet Impressions (how many streams our tweets appeared on).

We also introduced an EAFS Instagram account ahead of this year's festival which now has 83 Followers. We introduced #EAFS2015 / #EAFS15 and #PeopleOfEAFS #EAFSjourneys hashtag campaigns which have all captured various aspects of the EAFS experience across the various Social Media platforms.

From its redevelopment by our Communications & Graphics intern in June, the EAFS website has received 1,012,020 Hits with 15,793 Unique Visitors; 37,034 separate Visits; with 144,169 Pages on the website having been opened. Remarkable work!

FEEDBACK ON LESSONS LEARNT FROM EAFS MANAGEMENT TEAM . . .

Matt Baker's thoughts about EAFS interns: 1. The way Sleeping Giants set up the intern programme was inspired…getting Ruaridh in place first and then working with him to create an ‘offer’ for EAFS that young people would respond to worked brilliantly. Then the way the interns were eased introduced to the project worked very well too. It was a very complex project fro people to get their heads around, because the nature of environmental art is that it is a constant state of flux – so it was impossible to define exactly what the programme for the festival was. Sleeping Giants handled this in an exemplary fashion keeping the interns involved in all the development conversations as they evolved….and continually checking in with the interns individually to ensure that they felt they had what they needed to fulfil their roles and resolve any relationship issues etc.

Debs and Cara were a joy to work with throughout and filled any gaps as they appeared. The young people related to them very well and it was very inspiring to watch this sort of supportive creative learning in action.

If I have any criticism of the initial stages of the project – it is that we did not attract many candidates for the production internships. The promotional material reached designers and event managers – but not people interested in hands-on production.

2. The Interns themselves quite literally transformed the project – because of the funding gaps in other parts of the project there were gaps in the wider project team that the interns were encouraged to fill and they did so with relish. In so doing they were able to demonstrate leadership and wider responsibility skills that might not have been possible in the way the project was originally conceived. While this did add extra pressure on the young people they all rose to the challenge and visibly grew as professionals and people through the process.

3. Personally the experience for me was a very valuable opportunity to experience managing a large team for the first time – in the past I have not always found delegation easy – in this project there was no option not to delegate! The young people were eager and finished tasks quickly – it was a great learning for me to always have a list of jobs up my sleeve for people to do and also managing the inter-relationships of the interns by ensuring that each felt they had their own relationship with me and were comfortable with how they fitted into the areas of responsibility that I was directing for EAFS. Overall it was an inspirational project to be part of – the team that we all built together was one of the best that I have ever been part of, and it was a huge wrench to say goodbye to everyone and move onto the next project – but I am still in contact with everyone and feel sure that we will all work together again sometime.

The areas of vulnerability in the project were twofold as I saw it: 



The first was unavoidable because of the way EAFS is conceived as a collective working vision – but it was sometimes stressful for the interns to not have 100% clear lines of responsibility within the management team above them. They all adapted very well to this through a mixture of their own maturity, Debz/Cara’s skilful support and the growth of strong personal relationships and trust with members of the EAFS management team.

The second was avoidable – there was a gap in the EAFS management structure around Marketing/PR/Website/Print – in the previous festival Spring Fling led on these areas – for EAFS 15 it was understood that Spring Fling would take a less hands-on role….. however the gap between ‘overseeing’ and ‘managing’ proved a challenging one for everyone and this added additional pressure on both the interns and the EAFS management team.

Jan Hogarth's thoughts about EAFS interns: Sleeping Giants and Cara McNaught’s delivery of the EAFS Young peoples project was exceptional. Debz has a gift of seeing peoples potential and Cara very organized and passionate about the whole ethos behind EAFS. Sleeping Giants did an amazing job of recruiting interested young people who I think were drawn to the festival because of its aims and objectives and strong environmental ethos. As the team of five was selected you could not have planned a better team each with interests and skills that complimented each other and created a really dynamic energy.

The team lived out the festival themes of “Inventiveness, playfulness and generosity as a way of understanding the world” and put their heart and souls into the development of the festival. We had a short run in time but you would have thought the team had been working together for years. Sleeping Giants brought in the volunteers in a similar way enticing people who

would benefit in terms of knowledge and confidence by working with EAFS but also making sure EAFS was right for the way they wanted to develop their careers and interests.

EAFS is collaborative which can also be difficult as there is not the traditional management structure. As orchestrator and working on EAFS as an artist I felt it was important from the beginning to make sure that I got to know the individuals and helped find opportunities for them to pursue and develop their individual strengths and interests and put their stamp on EAFS. Debz and Cara are very much in the same place in terms of this approach. So EAFS Recharge was created another theme about connecting young people to landscape called “disconnect, reconnect and redirect your future” was created. Ruardhi was instrumental in the development of this work and worked closely with Matthew Shelley on press and media. Ruardhi is a highly creative and talented person. Then encouraged by Debz came the “Unicorn” project, which was to create a real life Unicorn and take him to events to engage people in the festival ahead of the main event. All the young team got involved in this project and the Unicorn enchanted the public in real life and on social media. It would never have happened without Sleeping Giants and the interns team. The web site via Kerry was excellent and Meredith did a great job of events management and an excellent events plan for the Estate. Daniel and Katie were completely engaged in production and did an excellent job. Daniel took on the challenges of holding a festival in the open landscape being a walker and nature enthusiast taking on the development of routes across the landscape. Katie brought her attention to details and creativity to the festival infrastructure. The volunteers were great and also brought their own individual skills and interest to EAFS including hosting, feeding the masses and general events delivery. I would also like to say how kind it was of Sian Yeshe Blackburn to organize a trip for the team to meet the head of the Samye Ling Centre to talk about climate change with him. That was a very special moment which I am sure nobody will forget.

The challenges for them were “too many cooks” with the collaborative nature of EAFS it can be confusing for people coming in and used to a normal management structures. However thankfully these guys were flexible and seemed to understand that this structure produced a creative energy and dynamic which was quite rare (even although there were sometimes mixed messages). Everyone is valued for who they are and what they can bring to EAFS. In many ways I would say that EAFS recharge was one of the most successful elements of EAFS. Bringing energy and making us all realize why we were doing this for future generations. The environment is going to be in their hands and so are the arts. I feel that these young people are going to go on to achieve great things in the future. In relation to Sleeping Giants they were amazing Debz sees peoples potential and gives everything to helping them achieve that and if she cant she will make sure she finds someone who will. Cara has a passion for the environment and helped the interns who were not from an arts background to engage and connect with EAFS helping disseminate their knowledge and value what they were interested in.

For me, I cried when the project finished. They taught me so much. Having worked in arts development and management for 15 years they taught me to “trust” again and “to go with the flow”, “follow my heart” (rather than over intellectualise everything and mitigate against risk and plan for every eventuality). I hope I managed to pass on as much knowledge and experience to the team as possible and inspire the core team and the volunteers to pursue a career in the arts or the environment and I hope to be able to work with Sleeping Giants again it was very good fun and felt very rewarding working with young people again.

I should also say that out with their work with EAFS, Daniel Leigh, Sian Yeshe Blackburn, Katie Anderson, Kerry Annison and Ruardih offered to help with my environmental art project “Quest”. They shared their knowledge and experience of Annandale to help enrich the project and I appreciated this very much. Their enthusiasm helped me to be an artist again and I am very indebted to them for this. I would be delighted to try to develop a project for the future with this team and with Sleeping Giants as well as providing glowing references for anyone who wants them. It was a blast!!

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGE FOR NEXT TIME . . .

"Make the festival longer! I would have liked for the production team and the marketing/admin team to have worked together more. This makes for better communication and a fuller understanding of all aspects of the festival."

"Do the call out for young people much earlier next time, maybe at the same time as the call out for artists (Nov/Dec) so that they are in from the beginning of the process and helping to evolve ideas and become super familiar with the content and context of the festival, and so that everyone gets how event management is an artistic practice."

"More drivers needed."

"All interns / volunteers need to be able to get out and about into the landscape more during the festival to properly experience it, understand it as an artwork, but this needs to be balanced with the fact that they are busy working on the delivery of the festival."

"Communication and decision making processes became slightly chaotic, needs to be addressed for next time."

"Target young creatives more, there seemed to be a lack of them. Did we miss a network?"

"More studio based production time, hands on practical learning and production with Matt/Robbie was really valuable."

"Build in front of house / customer service training so we can all learn to be as good as Sal!" "Have young people in early on as part of the creative planning process."

"Get interns started working on it a little earlier."

"How do we make sure our interns/young volunteers who are now our Ambassadors are able to effectively hand over to the next team for the following EAFS? How do we keep this team connected over 2 years?"

"Hold an annual EAFS picnic at Morton Castle on the last weekend in August to help refresh the teams connections and allow for a chance to re-ignite everyones involvement."

"We need to explore festival culture more: lets push what a festival is = no music / no consumer traps ie active not passive participants at a festival."

"Feels like we should utilise the same strategies next time, people seem to gravitate towards how we are working."

"Make it bigger and more solid. Make it lock itself into the future of D&G." "Try and attract funding to help stabilise EAFS so that there can be continuation after the festival so we don't need to disconnect after September."

"Can we please set up a Climate Change Academy and other EAFs' mini projects during the 2 years between the festival to keep us all connected?"

"Investigate the barriers around different crowds that EAFS attracted, barriers for people accessing art and how best to manage those interactions."

"Make it at least a 4 day festival so you have the chance to see most of the artwork, and enjoy the atmosphere longer."

"Showers?"

EAFS RECHARGE PHOTOSTORY . . .