Oodles of doodles - and new steps with new friends on our youth programme

Our Youth of the World programme recently welcomed both new and old faces on a sunny Saturday creative expression session supported by Children in Need.

And 13 young people - all of global majority or asylum seeker and refugee heritage - arrived bursting with energy, and came from all over Manchester to develop their creative and interpersonal skills with us.

First up, everyone let their imagination run wild with some freestyle drawings sketches and posters of what they were feeling in the moment – see below to find out the amazing things our young people have to say about our sessions:

Then, drama practitioner Rosheen warmed everyone up with a game of old favourite ‘Stuck in the Mud,’ leading later on into embodying jungle animals, and making some wild jungle sounds.

The objectives of this part of the session were as follows:

• To be playful and imaginative through exploring elements of an imaginary jungle together

• To feel confident sharing ideas with each other

• ⁠To feel that all ideas are valued equally

• ⁠To have agency and ownership when creating together

• ⁠To express our emotions and connect as a group

• And of course - to have fun

Great stuff! Project assistant Rosa added:

‘Today, we want everyone to get excited about the upcoming performance for Refugee Week over the summer, and I hope this session inspires connection and confidence.’

Dance practitioner Beatrice later made sure that everyone’s endorphins were rushing and attitude skyrocketed with some choreography for this summer’s exclusive performance with tunes by Bruno Mars and Rosé – take a look below to see her work her magic:

Here's the warmup:

Then: the reflective 'Die With A Smile' and bold 'APT' routines:

Watch out - dancing with the Afrocats and kittens could make you so happy that you might levitate - just like Beatrice!

Everyone finished up with applause all round, feeling joyful and more self-assured, having bonded with their peers through fun and play.

We can’t wait for you to join us at the next session – we’re sure by the end that you'll be beaming just like our young people.

Keep up to date with news from our projects here – and follow us on social media to see more about how we support Manchester’s global majority communities.