The Young Reporters project bringing together young people who attend Liverpool Arabic Centre, Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, FACT, Mersey Care and Alder Hey, worked to empower young people.
Using filmmaking, the participants trained as reporters, going behind the scenes at events at Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, meeting artists and performers, interviewing festival goers and VIPs, and discovering the rich variety of Arab culture.
Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, or LAAF, exists to promote Arab arts and culture, providing it with a platform with a ten day annual festival. By meeting the artists and performers, the students were able to learn about their own Arab culture and heritage, increasing their own awareness and offering them a chance to celebrate themselves and their community.
Cultural pride is incredibly important for young people in different communities, and a festival like LAAF offers them a sense of the wider community they are part of, helping them to grow in confidence and have a sense of belonging.
In conducting the interviews, both at the festival’s launch at the Epstein Theatre, attended by festival funders and Liverpool politicians, and the ever-popular Family Day at Sefton Park Palm House, the students were able to gain new skills. In approaching people to interview, they grew in confidence. They learn about digital storytelling and were taught skills that would benefit them both in their education and future careers.
The project was funded by Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust
