Team News
Stay up to date with the activities and events of the Culture and Community Engagement Team!
Earlier this month, we hosted our second away day with members of the Heritage Horizons and Heritage Futures Elevator cohorts.
Practitioners from both programmes, as well as our partners from the University of Northampton, were invited to our Bedford Campus to participate in a full day of learning and networking alongside evaluation experts and local heritage partners.
In the morning we were joined by Sonia Bielaszewska, Founder and Director of Social Research Builders Ltd, who provided an insight into the world of evaluation and gave us some hints and tips to help make project reporting more manageable.
At lunchtime, we welcomed representatives from The John Bunyan Museum, The Panacea Museum, The Higgins Museum, The Place Theatre for an hour of informal networking and partnership building.
The second half of the day was led by Dr Nicola Darwood, the Director of the University's Research Institute for Media, Arts and Performance. Nicola led the group through a mini writing retreat exercise, which helped to get our report writing juices flowing!
We thoroughly enjoyed the day, and would like to thank everyone who attended! It was a fantastic way to round off another great year of heritage work.
On 23rd October, the Culture and Community Engagement Team welcomed delegates from across the heritage and higher education sectors, and representatives from local authorities, to our Luton campus for a day of networking and collaboration.
As well as hearing insights from the team about our Heritage Innovation Fund Project, we were joined by George Stanley-Jones (NLHF), Katherine Hathaway (NCCPE), Jessie Allen, Desiree Bashi, Mieka Harris and Robert Lambert, who each offered insights into their experiences of cross-sector collaboration.
We also launched a series of resources, which can be downloaded from Conference resources
If you are interested in learning more about the event, you can visit the Heritage and Higher Education Conference webpage
In September, we were delighted to welcome members of the Heritage Horizons and Heritage Futures Elevator cohorts to our Luton campus for the first ever Heritage Away Day!
Practitioners from both programmes were invited to participate in a full day of learning and networking alongside local and national experts in cultural heritage and project management.
In the morning we were lucky enough to be joined by Naomi Korn, a leading expert in copyright and licensing, who delivered and engaging and informative training session to both in person delegates, and our partners at the University of Northampton who joined remotely.
This fantastic session was followed by a networking lunch with members of staff from Luton Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council, and an interactive workshop about project management led by CVS Bedfordshire
We thoroughly enjoyed the day, and would like to thank everyone who attended both in person and online!
The University’s Culture and Community Engagement Team had a fantastic time promoting their current arts and heritage projects at this year’s Bedford River Festival!
Based in the Arts and Culture Island tent alongside several local creative organisations, including Bedford Creative Arts, the Philharmonia, and The Higgins Museum, the team shared information about the University’s National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported programmes: Heritage Horizons and the Heritage Skills Hub
Image Credit: Jitty Marwaha/University of Bedfordshire
Across the two days, festival attendees took part in heritage workshops delivered by project partners Nine Red Presents CIC and Permission2 CIC. On day one, participants were invited to explore the heritage of carnival arts by creating their own theatrical masks and on day two, attendees shared stories of their own journeys to Bedfordshire as part of the Hometown Birds project.
In addition to supporting creative workshops, the Culture and Community Engagement Team were on hand throughout the weekend to share information about the wider work of the University and the courses that we deliver.
Image Credit: Jitty Marwaha/University of Bedfordshire
The team thoroughly enjoyed the event and were pleased to see so many local people engaging with our current heritage projects. If you are interested in reading more about the work that the team does with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, visit the Heritage Skills Hub
Many thanks to the National Lottery Players for making these projects possible and to Bedford Creative Arts for inviting us to take part in the Arts and Culture Island.
The team were delighted to have been selected to deliver a talk at this year's CiviCon, organised by the Civic University Network
Hosted by Sheffield Hallam University, the event brought together representatives from universities across the UK to discuss the civic role of higher education in the context of place and community.
As part of our Heritage Innovation Fund Test project, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the team shared learnings and facilitated a discussion about mutually beneficial strategies for collaboration between universities and their local partners. The session included case studies, group conversations, and even a game of acronym bingo!
The team thoroughly enjoyed the day and were pleased to meet colleagues from across the sector. Many thanks to the Civic University Network for selecting our workshop and to the National Lottery Players for making our HIF project possible.
The team had a fantastic time at this year's UCAS fair hosted at the University of Bedfordshire's Bedford Campus!
Based in the Culture Zone, the team collaborated with local organisation LUMA Sounds to deliver beat-boxing, music production and Dhol drumming workshops across the two day fair. Local young people were invited to learn new skills and gain practical musical experience, whilst also learning more about UoB and the projects that we deliver.
We were overwhelmed by the talent of the young people who attended our workshops and performed on stage throughout the event. Thank you to everyone who took part and to the National Lottery Players for making the Heritage Skills Hub programme possible.
Image credit: Jitty Marwaha/University of Bedfordshire