Throughout 2006 and 2007, film-makers Jon Robson and Murray Clark, together with journalist Matt Stephenson – all members of Hull-based media and education organisation Cafesociety.org - have been working closely with Creative Partnerships Hull, the British Council, the Freetown Society and Wilberforce 2007 to develop a variety of educational resources looking at the lives of young people in Freetown and Hull.
During visits to Freetown in May and September 2006, Cafesociety.org made a range of short films with young Sierra Leoneans. These films focus on a diverse range of topics such as the role of football in post-civil war Sierra Leone, the story of an ex-child soldier, the life of the city’s market traders and many more.
During a citizenship, literacy and media project supported by Creative Partnerships Hull, these films were then shown in five Hull schools, and the Hull pupils made films in response, revealing aspects of their own lives to their Freetown counterparts.
Both the Hull and Freetown films will be shown at the British Council in Freetown when Cafesociety.org return to the city during March 2007. A printed teaching resource supporting this work, looking at the history of Freetown and contemporary life in the city, is also be available, free-of-charge from Creative Partnerships Hull.
Furthermore, Cafesociety.org and Winifred Holtby Secondary School, in association with Hull Museums Educations Service and the British Library’s ‘Making an Impact’ slavery education project, have also developed a workshop programme inspired by Wilberforce’s campaign, giving young people the skills to develop their own campaigns and change their own lives.
“At Cafesociety.org we believe that by learning about the cultures and people of the world we can come to a greater understanding of ourselves.” explains Cafesociety.org’s Jon Robson, “Our hope is that we can provide the spark and skills for the people we work with to use their voices and improve the world.”
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