This activity is designed for general youth settings. The purpose of the activity is to recognise the value of history – how it informs the present, and affects how we understand and behave towards others. The activities promote awareness of archives, and encourage young people to understand that heritage and history is made up of a range of different people’s voices, experiences, and stories.
Look at, Read, Listen to
- Greg Cox (emotional well-being and the politics around same sex marriage)
- Charlie Wood (thinking about families)
- Elle (Coming out and thinking about the significance of representation and style)
- Sabah Choudhary (Trans Experience, cultural difference and multiple oppression)
1. Split the group into four. Each group is asked to study one of the selected extracts, then discuss and write down what they find interesting about their extract.
2. Ask each group to write a message to the person in the archive as a response to their story. It could be a message of support, or a question, or an observation about something they have learned from reading the story.
3. Write this message on an A3 sheet of card. Make sure the text is written large, and in black pen. If the message is too long for one card – then use two cards and have two people hold the card. It is important that the message is readable.
4. Make a portrait of one person (or two depending on the length of the message) holding the card with the message. Think about the background for the photograph. Make sure that the person/people holding the card pose so the message can be read, and make the image as interesting as possible. Consider how the message is being held, where the person/people are standing with the message.
5. Once the group has finished, print out or download their final images and discuss them together.