New projects ideas

With the beginning of the new semester I have started to think about some possible projects I may develop for the new modules.

1- Young Carers: http://www.glosyoungcarers.org.uk/ I am in contact with this organisation since September and we have already spoken about a collaboration.

Young carers are children and young people under the age of 18 who provide regular or ongoing care and/or emotional support to a family member. Young carers and young adult carers become vulnerable when the level of care giving and responsibility to the person in need of care becomes excessive or inappropriate for that young person, risking impacting on his or her emotional or physical well-being or educational achievement and life chances. The mission of this charity is to support young carers in reaching their potential, enabling them and their families to access support that minimises the physical and emotional impact of caring, and that promotes health, well being and resilience.

On the 24th January I am gonna meet a member of the charity to talk about a collaboration. My project may be to document the lifes and the stories of one or more families in difficult situations and underline the support given by the young carers to their family members with difficuilties.

2- Sahara Saheli: Sahara Saheli (meaning Supportive Friends) first originated as an Asian women's group.Since then it has evolved into a multicultural women's group for women living and working in Cheltenham.It brings together women from different ethnic minority backgrounds with the aim of reducing isolation, building confidence and engagement with public services. My proposal is to contact them and possibly realise a series of portraits and write their stories.

3- Hindu Community: I have found this interesting article about the Hindu community of Gloucestershire: http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/untold_stories/asian/hindu_community.shtml. In the article is explained how in both the Hindu centres in Gloucester and Cheltenham the development of their culture is marred by the lack of additional funding and resources. There is concern, as with each new generation, of the loss of Hindu culture and customs, as the younger generation becomes more assimilated and integrated within mainstream Western culture and attitudes. The fear of the elder population is of the eventual loss of their ethnic customs, language and traditions. Already, many Indian families are finding that their children are unable to read and write and speak in their mother tongue Gujarati.

I would like to get in contact with this community and document their current situation and how they are trying to preserve their identity. This aspect needs to be taken seriously and addressed fully at national level, if ethnic cultures are to continue and survive.

4- Briery Hill Llama: https://www.brieryhillllamas.co.uk/ On the outskirts of the Forest of Dean there is a llama farm established by two animal enthusiasts, Lisa and Steve Fox. After working in the farming industry for many years, they decided to sell up and live their dream of llama trekking and owning animals.

5- Where the Britons are minorities in the UK: I have found this interesting article https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/370013/White-Britons-are-now-a-minority-in-4-towns-and-cities telling about the cities in the UK, outside of London, where the Britons have fallen to a minority. This article of 2013 says that the white British proportion is officially below 50 per cent in Leicester, Luton and Slough.

This other article: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/dec/23/communities.population reports that Leicester will become the first 'super-diverse' city by 2020 followed by Birmingham.

I may develop a project documenting the situation in one or more of these cities and possibly get some interviews.

6- The Playhouse Company/ Cheltenham Amateur Dramatic Society: for one of my projects, especially the Studio one, I would like to realise a series of portraits in the theatre environment. I will try to get in contact with some Drama amateurs societies based in Cheltenham, such as The Playhouse Company https://www.theplayhousecompany.org.uk/get-involved, The Theatre Studio http://www.theatrestudio.co.uk/, The Patesian Players http://patesianplayers.org.uk/about/, The Grande Royale Theatre Company http://www.granderoyaletheatrecompany.co.uk/, The Costwold Savoyards https://www.cotswoldsavoyards.com/main/index.html, The Cheltenham Operatic and Dramatic Society http://codsonline.co.uk/ and The Promenade Production http://www.promenadeproductions.co.uk/.