Category: Y Heritage

On Wednesday 19th of June, we were very proud to host the 3rd Community of Practice event for Kick the Dust, a £10 million initiative from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. It was incredible to have all 12 funded projects represented by project workers and also some of the external project evaluators attend. Joining representatives from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we also welcomed some of the “DustKickers”. The DustKickers are young ambassadors aged between 16 and 25 who helped to decide how the £10 million was awarded.

The agenda for the day included a guest speaker from one of the Y Heritage funded projects called The New Custodian. Theo Miller from Leicester Printworks was one of the first applicants to receive funding from The Y and his project is now completed. He was joined by one of our young people, Jimmy, who did a placement with Theo working to restore a Victorian printing press. They both took the time to answer some questions from our visitors and share some insights into enabling young people to access and become interested in heritage.

At the end of the conference, some of our visitors were able to go along to a specially arranged preview of another Y Heritage funded project called Sanctuaries. Local organisation ArtReach, successfully applied for Y Heritage funding and of course offered a placement to one of our young people. A fantastic end to a successful event.

This bringing together of all organisations involved allowed the sharing of successes and best practice as well as the opportunity to network and learn from the other organisations.Welcome and we hope you enjoyed your day in our lovely Victorian theatre.

As part of being involved with our Y Heritage project, some of our young people were invited to come along to KRIII visitor centre. They were shown around the exhibits and invited to try on some of the armour and replica weapons. A fabulous time was had by all.

The centre is the result of transforming the former Alderman Newton’s School, a stunning Victorian Gothic revival building built partly on the site of the former Grey Friars Church and in the heart of Leicester’s Old Town. This is where the remains of King Richard III were buried and subsequently discovered in 2012.

Our young people enjoyed an interactive state of the art exhibition that tells the story of Richard’s life and his eventful two year reign that came to an end at the Battle of Bosworth. They also got to try on and hold some replica weapons and armour of the period.

 

 

A fascinating and exciting afternoon was enjoyed by the Y Heritage team and some of our young people. They were invited to watch the team at Leicester Print Workshop take delivery of a Colombian printing press which will be on exhibition until the 4th of May and the subject of a restoration project called “The New Custodian”. This project received £9000 of funding from the first round of pitches to our Y Heritage team and young people and was one of three successful bids.

Leicester Print Works are offering a meaningful placement to one of our young people as part of the project. Both parties will receive training and support during the process and both young people and heritage organisations will benefit from a young person’s perspective and the increased engagement of young people with the heritage sector. You can follow the project on Instagram @thenewcustodian. If you’re a heritage organisation and would like to know more about future rounds of funding, please email [email protected] or call 0116 204 6211.

Heritage sites from across Leicestershire will pitch ‘Dragons Den’-style to a panel of young people for funding

The Y are very proud to announce that a project we are leading, called Y Heritage, has been awarded £707,500 through the Heritage Lottery Fund’s pioneering new “Kick the Dust” funding programme. This project is a collaboration between key partners The Y (Leicester YMCA), and members of Leicester’s Cultural Equality Consortium. The money, raised thanks to National Lottery players, will engage young people with heritage in the city and county.

The award will fund a “Dragons Den” style practice where representatives from Leicestershire’s heritage sites and organisations can pitch for funding from a panel of young people who are considered to be disengaged with the heritage sector. This brings the heritage sector and young people together to work on a variety of projects and newly inspired re-presentations of Leicester and Leicestershire’s abundant history and heritage.

Not only has The Y provided a service to the community and supported young people for the past 135 years, it has also seen thousands of professional and amateur performers delighting audiences of Leicester in front of an Edwardian theatre backdrop that has also served as a vital space for wounded soldiers and young men in need of accommodation and medical attention. The Y’s current young residents will be part of The Y Heritage panel.

 

 

Joanna Fleetwood-Smith, Business Development Manager at The Y says “Young people involved in this project will gain skills in decision making, project management and a direct opportunity to engage with Leicester and Leicestershire’s heritage assets. What’s more, heritage organisations will have the chance to build on their skills and confidence in working and engaging with young people. Ultimately, we’re excited to see how enthusing and enabling both parties will bring our city and county heritage to life in new ways and create lasting opportunities for young people to work with and enjoy what the heritage sector has to offer”.

Danny Myers, Chair of Leicester Cultural Equality Consortium says “There are exciting opportunities now for the heritage sector to pitch for funding to re-present their organisation and receive on-going training and support to work with disengaged young people. This project will run for three years but leave a legacy for our heritage and young people.”

The funding has been awarded through ‘Kick the Dust’, a pilot funding programme from the Heritage Lottery Fund aimed at making heritage more inclusive for young people aged 11-25. At its core is a group of young Heritage Ambassadors who are on a mission to ‘stir up heritage’, and who helped advise on how the money should be allocated.

19-year-old Jaimini Solanki, Heritage Ambassador from Leicester, said: “It has been a brilliant experience learning how grants are awarded, and helping HLF to allocate £10m to projects involving more young people in heritage. I’m thrilled that The Y has won funding, as we found its plans to involve young people who wouldn’t usually get involved in heritage especially appealing. Making Leicestershire’s heritage easier to participate in for more people my age is very important to me, and I’m looking forward to seeing what exciting now opportunities the project creates for people my age.”

If you are part of a heritage organisation based in Leicester or Leicestershire and are interested in getting involved in this project we would love to hear from you.  Please contact us at [email protected] and put Y Heritage in the subject line.