Connecting disadvantaged young people with landscape through arts

拟议的项目是继成功的Stories2Connect(S2C)项目的基础上开展的，该项目以参与式方式与处境不利的儿童和年轻人合作，根据他们的生活经历创作故事，并通过一系列共同设计的面向不同受众的讲故事数字机器进行讲述。S2C入围了2018年AHRC-Wellcome健康人文奖章，并获得了EPSRC颁发的1万GB的奖项，以制作一部关于该项目的影响和参与的电影。我们创建了50个故事，并设计和制作了5个人工制品，通过物理互动和手机应用程序访问故事。此外，43个故事已被印刷为故事书，18个故事已被创作为项目网站上的电影。故事和数字人工制品的结合在创造一种全新的讲故事流派/方法/手段方面发挥了重要作用，涉及触摸、空间、运动的元素，增强了感官和身体体验，从而增加了知识交流过程。这笔后续资金将用于通过与项目期间和之后遇到的组织合作，吸引新的受众和新的工作主题，特别是与俄罗斯地平线信托基金、艺术基因、布莱克浦委员会、儿童图书作家和插画家协会、环境慈善机构和专业讲故事人合作。这些联系与一个关于年轻人参与欣赏和利用其自然环境的主题相联系。我们的参与式方法将应用于开发和使用新资源，并将导致共同制作的艺术作品，重点是为有关景观的决策贡献年轻人的观点。我们的评价访谈以及访问过产出的公众和专业人员的反馈表明，该项目对于提高参与的弱势青年的参与度、自尊心、自信心、复原力和成就具有重要意义。因此，作为一个团队，年轻人和学者打算创造一种手段，使其他群体能够开发自己的故事，并定制讲故事的工具。西北部的案例研究将在巴罗-in-Furness、布莱克浦和鲁斯兰山谷进行。这三个地区都位于英格兰西北部，拥有丰富的自然景观，靠近高度贫困的地区。来自靠近这些自然环境的城市地区的弱势青年不一定像从更远的地方访问的人那样从这些环境中受益。这意味着当地人口在任何关于他们自己的景观的决定中都被边缘化。我们对处境不利/残疾儿童和青年的关注特别重要，因为他们的声音最不可能被听到。我们正在与一系列社区团体合作，努力实现他们的目标，即提高儿童对农村的欣赏和了解，并改善成年人对儿童和年轻人在自然环境中的需求的了解。例如，RHT将与相对靠近湖区Rusland遗产区的城市地区的学校团体一起举办环境讲习班。使用S2C开发的协作写作方法，SCBWI志愿者和当地社区志愿者将帮助年轻人共同创作故事、诗歌和歌曲。参与其中的年轻人将受益于他们的观点被捕捉并传达给有影响力的利益相关者。这些利益相关者将受益于在维护和创造景观方面认可并纳入儿童和年轻人的观点。公众将对儿童和青少年以及考虑到他们的景观有更多的了解，环境使用者将更多地关心和关注环境。

The proposed project follows on from the successful Stories2Connect (S2C) project which worked in participatory ways with disadvantaged children and young people to create stories based on their lived experiences, told through a range of co-designed story-telling digital machines for different audiences. S2C was shortlisted for the AHRC-Wellcome Health Humanities Medal 2018, and won a prize of £10,000 from EPSRC to create a film about the impact and engagement of the project. We created 50 stories and designed and produced five artefacts to access stories through physical interaction and a mobile phone app. In addition, 43 of the stories have been printed as storybooks, and 18 have been created as films on the project website. The combination of stories and digital artefacts has been significant in creating a whole new genre/method/means of story-telling, involving elements of touch, space, movement, enhancing the sensual and physical experience and thereby adding to the knowledge exchange process.This follow-on funding will be used to engage with new audiences and new themes of work by collaborating with organisations encountered during and since the project, specifically with the Rusland Horizons Trust, Art Gene, Blackpool Council, the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, environmental charities and professional storytellers. These connections link with a theme that developed, about young people's participation in the appreciation and uses of their natural environment. Our participatory methodology will be applied in developing and using the new resources and will lead to co-produced artistic outputs focused on contributing young people's perspectives to decision-making about landscape. Our evaluation interviews and feedback from publics and professionals who have accessed the outputs have demonstrated the significance of the project for improving engagement, self-esteem, confidence, resilience and attainment for the disadvantaged young people who have been involved. As a team, the young people and the academics therefore intend to create a means of enabling other groups to develop their own stories and bespoke story-telling devices. Case studies in the North West will take place in Barrow-in-Furness, Blackpool, and the Rusland Valley. These three areas are all in NW England, rich in natural landscapes and close to areas of high deprivation. Disadvantaged young people from urban areas close to these natural environments do not necessarily benefit from them as much as those who visit from further afield. This means that the local populations are marginalised in any decisions that are made about their own landscapes. Our focus on disadvantaged/disabled children and young people is of particular importance as their voices are the least likely to be heard. We are collaborating with a range of community groups to work with their aims of enhancing children's appreciation and understanding of the countryside and on improving adults' understanding of children and young people's needs within natural environments. For example, RHT will conduct environmental workshops with groups from schools in urban areas relatively close to the Rusland Heritage area of the Lake District. Using collaborative methods for writing, as developed in S2C and described in a co-authored practitioner guide (Satchwell et al 2018), the SCBWI volunteers and local community volunteers will help the young people to co-create stories, poems and songs.Young people will benefit from participating and from having their perspectives captured and conveyed to influential stakeholders.Those stakeholders will benefit from recognising and including perspectives from children and young people in maintaining and creating landscapes. The general public will gain greater understanding of children and young people and landscapes which take them into account.The environment will benefit from greater care and attention from those who use it.