Sheffield pupils celebrate Black History Month with thought-provoking film
A group of 10 pupils from King Edward VII School in Sheffield have marked Black History Month (October 2012) by creating a documentary film exploring higher education, identity and aspirations.
The film, entitled We Are Here was launched this week (Monday 22 October 2012) at the Showroom Cinema alongside a screening of Mama Africa, a film about South African singer Miriam Makeba as part of the celebrations for Black History Month.
The film was made by the King Edward VII School Black Pupils’ Achievement Group as part of the University of Sheffield’s We Are Here project and includes footage of a series of interviews with staff and students at the University of Sheffield.
We Are Here is a collaborative project in which students, lecturers and schoolteachers use arts and humanities subjects to support aspiration and widen access to culture amongst black and ethnic minority pupils in the City of Sheffield.
The project, set up by Janine Bradbury, Dr David Forrest, Dr Ingrid Hanson and Ruksana Majid from the University’s School of English, works with young people to create digital output such as web, film, music and audio as a way of exploring issues around identity and self-expression, while enabling the students to develop skills and expertise crucial to their future studies and careers.
Year 10 pupil, Yousif Hassan, said of the project: “I realise now that it doesn't really matter what background you are from, or who you are, you can still go to university and achieve the job that you want and lead the life you want.”
Project Officer Janine Bradbury said: “This film reflects the on-going and valuable conversation we are having with this group of young people about higher education, aspiration, and identity. It is important that the University nurtures a space where young people can develop a sense of self-expression, self-reflection and self-development, and literature and film are a fantastic way of enabling that.”
Dr David Forrest, Lecturer in Film Studies, added: "Working with the young people who made this film has been an absolute joy. The film shows that the young people's insights and expertise about education, identity and aspiration are unique and valuable - hopefully, they've learnt as much from us as we have from them!"
Additional information
For more information on this event visit:
Storying Sheffield, We Are Here
The University of Sheffield
With nearly 25,000 students from 125 countries, the University of Sheffield is one of the UK´s leading and largest universities. A member of the Russell Group, it has a reputation for world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines.
The University of Sheffield has been named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards for its exceptional performance in research, teaching, access and business performance. In addition, the University has won four Queen´s Anniversary Prizes (1998, 2000, 2002, 2007). These prestigious awards recognise outstanding contributions by universities and colleges to the United Kingdom´s intellectual, economic, cultural and social life. Sheffield also boasts five Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students and many of its alumni have gone on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence around the world.
The University´s research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Unilever, Boots, AstraZeneca, GSK, ICI, Slazenger, and many more household names, as well as UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations.
The University has well-established partnerships with a number of universities and major corporations, both in the UK and abroad. Its partnership with Leeds and York Universities in the White Rose Consortium has a combined research power greater than that of either Oxford or Cambridge.
Contact
For further information please contact:
Amy Stone
Media Relations Officer
The University of Sheffield
0114 222 1046
a.f.stone@sheffield.ac.uk