Local community project Skills 4 All has received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £92,650 for an exciting heritage project, ‘My Story, My Voice: A Covid-19 Story, in Oldham’.
Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project focuses on capturing, preserving, and sharing the first-hand experiences of young black and brown people and their families during Covid-19 in Oldham.
Supported through The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project will focus on the deeper connection to and appreciation of family tradition, culture, and heritage that took place with extended family during the lockdowns, and things that young black and brown people have told Skills 4 All is important to them.
The project ambitions will give young people the tools, time, and platform to gather, express, and share their Covid-19 experiences with the wider community.
Skills 4 All is a community organisation whose main purpose is to inspire young people to grow further.
They do this by empowering under-served young people aged between 4-18, with the skills they need to thrive in the digital sector.
They are here to shift the horizon for under-served communities and show them what’s really possible.
Skills 4 All is committed to supporting young people to step into a future that excites them and helps them to discover their true potential in an ever-growing digital space.
During this project, Skills 4 All will help 24 young participants from across Oldham to get involved in this project.
Working with heritage professionals at the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Centre at Manchester Library, digital scrapbooking experts, video creation and public speaking professionals, the young people will learn core skills to preserve their heritage.
In addition, they will gain up-to-date digital and work-ready skills they can use to strengthen their career opportunities in the fast-growing digital sector in Greater Manchester.
Commenting on the award, Co-Directors Reddy Lenge and Rubbi Bhogal-Wood said: “We are thrilled to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players and are confident the project will support these young black and brown people to capture their lockdown memories and share their newly-discovered appreciation of their cultural heritage and faith.
“Doing this will help them understand themselves, their identity, their resilience, and their growth after Covid-19.
“They want their stories to be amplified to friends, family, the local community, and have their voices archived for generations to come.
“We’re thankful to have the chance to make this happen.”