We recently launched our Built Heritage Youth Engagement Programme which aims to reach out to disadvantaged young people in three London boroughs. At the end of our first session, Built Heritage specialist and course coordinator, Paul McGarrity looks back on a busy couple of weeks.
We began the first of our Built Heritage Youth Engagement Programme sessions in Haringey. Part of our continued commitment as an archaeological charity is to engage with young people who may not have easy access to heritage programmes. So, by working in partnership with Haringey Council Youth Justice Service, we were able to offer 10 young people the chance to participate in a two week programme of tours, talks, workshops, site visits and skills sessions designed to offer an informative insight into the heritage sector and equip them with the skills they need to kick-start their careers.
For the Haringey sessions, we worked with Tottenham Hotspur Foundation and took the students on visits to some of their historic buildings including Percy house and 810 on the High Road in Tottenham; a pair of Georgian terraced houses. The buildings are currently being renovated and will eventually house the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation and other local businesses. So, our students were invited in to these historic buildings (which are not usually open to the public) to study their unique interiors, discover the exciting things being uncovered during renovation and learn how to record them with MOLA’s Built Heritage team.
These trips provided a brilliant opportunity to teach the participants new skills, such as photography, presenting to an audience, research skills, and critical thinking, whilst simultaneously helping them to understand and engage with their local heritage. Over the two week period the students took part in several classroom-based activities, a tour of the MOLA offices and visits to other historic properties such as Sutton House in Hackney. At the end of the two weeks, the group presented the work they had produced to the public on board MOLA’s very own Time Truck at the Bernie Grant Arts and Dance Festival.
