WYAN Co-ordinator, Clare Mitchell currently sits on the Cultural Olympiad group for the subregion - To keep you informed we will post any updates below …
Extraordinary Cycles Open Weekend Report -HYBRID ARTS
On the 27th of September, as part of the Cultural Olypmiad ‘Open Weekend’, Hybrid Arts and Coventry Transport Museum launched their 2012 initiative - a four year celebration of cycling and cycle production.
The event included an‘idea’s forum’, the outcomes of which will inform development of the project. The forum introduced the partnership and its aims and invited the audience to contribute - a fair chunk of this was taken up by cycle lobbying in its various forms, e.g., cycle routes, cycle tracks etc.
The forum panel included Hybrid Arts Creative Director Tim Ellis, professional Flatland rider Keelan Phillips, WCC Youth Arts Officer Clare Mitchell, Coventry Transport Museum officer Steve Bagley, 5 times Cycling World Champion Mick Ives, Dancescape officer Sarah Jassal and London Organising Committee of the 2012 Olympic Games Head of Live Sites Mike Gibbons - Terry Herlihy provided the roving microphone for audience participation.
This was followed by a display - an innovative light, sound and projection spectacle featuring international award winning Flatland BMX rider Keelan Phillips and a group of aspiring young BMX Freestyle riders - these young people literally cycled in off the street to get involved. The event was rounded off with some closing words from Mike Gibbons.
Highlights of the display can be viewed on YouTube
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xt54Tf94m8M
or alternatively go to www.youtube.com/hybridfilms
It was widely agreed that the venue at CTM was perfect for this kind of event. The display launched the idea of a ‘Cycle Dance’ - a performance on bikes that incorporates cycling, sound and projection.
Over the next four years the partnership will grow and develop a series of major exhibitions, workshops and performances leading to 2012. Tim Ellis said: “We’re really excited to be working with the Transport Museum - they’re the perfect partner as they have all the knowledge, resources and expertise of the history of cycling, including the largest collection of bicycles at their fingertips, and we can come in from the grassroots with the latest in street level biking culture fronted by young people.” The ‘Cycle Dance’ will also grow over time into a large scale participatory performance.
The project was awarded the ‘Inspire Mark’ - one of only three licences in the region. The London 2012 Inspire mark recognises outstanding projects and events helping deliver the Games’ lasting legacy.
Arts Council England have contributed funding to enable Tim Ellis to work with Keelan Phillips and Junior Cunningham to develop choreography and interactive music for Flatland BMX riding.
Junior is a professional dancer with Motionhouse Dance Theatre and is a keen freestyle BMX rider. Some of the findings from their R&D will be presented in a performance at the International Conference Centre at an event hosted by Lord Sebastian Coe in December 2008.
The Leamington Courier ran a piece on the cultural impact of the 2012 Games. ‘The Cultural Olympiad was an important aspect of the successful bid to hold the Games in London - and Brian Woods-Scawen, chairman of Culture West Midlands, believes it is as significant in its own way as its sporting counterpart. He said: “This is the West Midland’s chance to show not only the rest of the UK but the whole world just how strong our cultural life is. With major talent in performing and visual arts and a unique heritage, we have inspirational cultural talent to match the sporting talent which will be on show in 2012.”’
1. Celebrating Paralympic Handover in schools and colleges
On 17 September, the Paralympic Flag will be handed from the Mayor of Beijing to the Mayor of London. This final Handover Ceremony marks the start build up to the London 2012 Games and the beginning of the London 2012 Education Programme. This programme aims to create a once in a generation Games experience for children and young people, inspiring them to fulfil their potential and create long-term benefits for themselves and their communities.
Paralympic Handover offers a unique opportunity to put schools and colleges at the heart of celebrations. We want schools, colleges and other places of learning right across the UK to develop their own plans for celebrations. We’ve already heard examples of local authorities, schools and others planning disability sports festivals, events inspired by the Paralympic values, singing competitions, international language and sport festivals, assemblies, debates and open days - to name just a few.
What’s available?
London 2012 have developed an education resource to support children and young people in planning and leading celebrations on the 17th September, engaging their whole learning community in the excitement of the day and exploring themes that this event presents. This online resource, available at www.london2012.com/paralympichandover from 16 June, will provide a range of tools to support schools and colleges in developing and delivering their ideas. In addition, a four minute promotional film explaining the purpose of Handover and a timeline for a classroom wall detailing the history of the Paralympic Games will be sent to every school (primary, secondary, special, independent), college, pupil referral unit and local authority on the 16th. We shall make sure that a copy of this film is also sent to every Nations and Regions coordinator for use within your regions.
The online resource will provide a range of different tools. These will include:
- activity ideas to support teachers and young people as they develop their own plans. One idea is for a physical or virtual Time Capsule - encouraging young people to consider what they would like to remember about their life in 2008. The Handover Challenge asks young people to participate in sporting and cultural challenges that last 20 minutes and 12 seconds. There will be a range of other activity ideas and useful web links. Teachers and young people will also be encouraged to upload their own ideas with the best idea every fortnight being rewarded with a school visit from a Paralympian in the Autumn term, courtesy of Visa - a proud Supporter of the London 2012 Paralympic Games Handover. We shall make sure we inform the relevant regions of any winning schools so that we can generate local and regional PR around the visit.
- factsheets for use in lessons and on classroom walls about the Paralympic Games and Paralympic athletes
- a seven minute inspirational film about the Paralympic Games and Paralympic Movement (available from the beginning of September)
- an image bank of Paralympic athletes, sports and heritage, along with other London 2012 images. These images can be used by young people and teachers in projects, assemblies and other presentations
- screensavers, wallpaper and certificates for teachers to download and use with their pupils
- posters displaying the Paralympic values and stickers (primary schools) for order
The majority of these resources will be available from 16th June when the site goes live, with more to be added over the summer.
Share your plans
Schools and colleges will be able to register their details through the site. We want schools and colleges to register their details with us and begin planning their activity now - we are encouraging them to tell us what they have planned through the ‘Share your ideas’ section of the website. Schools and colleges that register will be able to request Paralympic posters and stickers for use in their institution and more information on the four year education programme.
The more information we receive about planned activity, the more we can work with you to promote activity in the press and media on a local, regional and national scale. For example, we’re in early discussions with the BBC Nations and Regions team and it would be great to know of specific examples of planned activity asap so that we can inform them where potential stories might be. Annabel Gunnell in our Communications team will continue to work with you on how we engage media most effectively on the day.
Request for help
Over the next few months, we would like to work with you to generate interest in Paralympic Handover, to raise awareness of the date and to encourage schools, colleges and young people to get thinking about what they might do. We would also like you to encourage schools and colleges to register on the site from the 16th. We will be provided with daily breakdowns of who has signed up so will be able to contact you to explore how we increase numbers in under-represented areas – or to celebrate success in enthusiastic areas! We would also like you to ask some of your institutions what they have planned and to share with us the most interesting answers you receive. We are building a database of all of the activity that is taking place so we can share it with Communications and PR colleagues - and with yourselves. We have created a template for submitting this information and this is attached to this e-mail. Please could you fill in this template for any activity you’re aware of and forward it to your networks and contacts for them to fill in too? (you may choose to wait until after the 16th to forward it) These templates should then be forwarded to us at education@london2012.com. We’ll share everything we receive from schools and colleges in your region with you.
Following Paralympic Handover….
Finally, as you know, these Paralympic Handover celebrations are the curtain raising event for the domestic strand of our education programme which starts on the 18th September. Through this programme we will build a network of schools and colleges who are demonstrating a commitment to the Olympic and Paralympic values, using the Games to drive change and meet existing objectives. An interactive website will go live on this day and will support children and young people in learning about and exploring these values - providing films, updated news and flexible resources dedicated to both students and practitioners and offering them a chance to interact with and be involved in the delivery of the London 2012 Games.
Communicating our plans
As you will have seen from other correspondence, a press briefing is planned for the afternoon of the 16 June - during this briefing we will announce our plans for the Paralympic Handover and the four year domestic education programme to the education press. This briefing will follow the morning Handover briefing. We will issue an education specific press release, both nationally and regionally which may feature some quotes from the teachers we work with regularly. Annabel will continue to keep you up to speed with developments.
Other planned activities
1) ‘Who Do We Think We Are’ - as you know, we are working with the DCSF on other partners on a DCSF led project called ‘Who Do We Think We Are’ week.
The project will pilot in schools across England in the week beginning 23rd June. Throughout the week children and young people will take part in activities, helping them to think about diversity, community and identity. We are helping the DCSF to launch ‘Who Do We Think We Are’ and will be leading an event at Tong High School in Bradford (one of the official pilot areas) on Monday 23rd June. Jim Knight MP, Schools Minister will be launching the programme simultaneously at an event in Liverpool and naturally DCSF will lead on any communications surrounding the launch and the whole project in general but Annabel will contact relevant colleagues should we have the chance to do some local communication in and around Tong High School.
2) EDF - many of you will already be aware that EDF made a commitment to education and we have been working with them to develop a sustainability and regeneration resource which will be open to all schools and colleges from September this year. EDF plan to soft launch this commitment in mid June, following our press briefing on the 16th - we will share more information a little nearer the time.
Please do get in touch if you have any questions and please do help us to spread the word! We’re really keen that Paralympic Handover celebrations take place right across the UK and are especially keen that the widest range of children and young people have the chance to participate. Please do let us know if you hear of any fantastic plans and please encourage as many institutions to sign up as soon as possible too – we look forward to receiving your templates (via education@london2012.com)
Thanks for all of your help and support. We look forward to working with you to make the 17th September a really exciting day for young people up and down the UK.
Best wishes,
Kathryn McColl
LOCOG
June 2008
