Published: 31 Jul 2018
A new series of podcasts, made by young people at Screen Education Edinburgh, explore the positive impact of creative CashBack projects across Scotland, for both the young people and artists involved.
The CashBack for Creativity programme aims to tackle inequality by removing barriers to access and provision of arts and creative experiences for young people, aged 10-24 regardless of background or situation.
The podcasts were commissioned by Creative Scotland to further explore and share the findings of BOP Consulting’s 2017 research into the CashBack programme. This provides a fascinating insight into the wide-ranging impact of the arts and creativity on the lives of young people who have experienced additional challenges in life or experience barriers to access and explores good practice in delivering creative projects to young people.
Based on over 50 in-depth interviews with participants and practitioners, the report paints a rich, rewarding and complex picture of how young people can be supported through creative projects. One of the clearest findings is that progression journeys must be made on the terms and needs of individual participants.
The report also finds that working together, trusting each other and relying on each other is the only way that the best outputs and outcomes can be achieved when working with young people. The paper highlights how CashBack projects have been found to help young people develop their creative identity and explore their creative selves in a safe and supportive environment.
These podcasts expand on those interviews, featuring case studies on the young people participating in the programme and information on the work being completed during CashBack projects across Scotland.
Amongst the testimonies in the first podcast, which focuses on attainment and progression, we hear from 19-year-old Jessica whose experience of the scheme has resulted in hands-on experience of film-making, boosting her confidence, skills and self-esteem.
Being involved gave me the confidence to do this, I would never thought I could achieve something like this before- Jessica
After moving to Scotland in 2016, Jessica struggled to find her feet. Suffering from depression and anxiety, she tried to find inspiration in a local college course but dropped out after just one month.
It was then that she discovered Tomorrow’s People, a 6-week engagement programme offering mixed group activities and 1-1 support, and through that, Screen Education Edinburgh’s Access to Film Making course. This was when things really started to happen.
Fast forward a year, and Jessica is brimming with confidence. Her involvement in the course has led to several other exciting opportunities; after completing an accredited “Intro to Film Making course”, Jessica now regularly attends regular drop-in sessions where young people from deprived areas can develop their knowledge and passion for film and filmmaking.
She’s also enrolled in Street League, a youth sports charity that uses sport to engage young people and teach them key life and work skills and is now coaching a young person with visual impairment, on top of a part time job.
For Jessica, the impact of the support she’s received is clear: “There is no way I would have been confident enough to do the coaching or the part time job if it wasn’t for doing the courses I have here.”
Jessica took a lead role in producing these new podcasts.
Listen to the podcasts below or on Soundcloud. If you prefer, you can access transcripts of these podcasts below.
The podcasts each explore key themes that surfaced from the research, including:
Download transcripts of the podcasts.
CashBack for Creativity is a programme funded by the Scottish Government's CashBack for Communities programme. It offers young people (10 - 24 years) across Scotland the opportunity to engage in creative and cultural activity. It provides high quality learning and developmental activities across all art forms which improve the skills and confidence of young people, raise attainment and aspirations, and provide pathways for further learning, training, education and employment.
Running from April 2017 – March 2020, phase 4 of the CashBack for Creativity programme is administered by Creative Scotland, with a total of £2.6m to deliver activity to disadvantaged young people across Scotland under the theme of Creativity.
For further information please visit: https://www.creativescotland.com/cashback
Image: SHMU Youth Media Project (funded by CashBack for Creativity). Photo credit: Graham Dargie
