Our project officer Cat went along to the launch event of our Youth Co-operative Action project - see what she got up to below.

The project...

Yesterday saw the launch of our Youth Co-operative Action project- a partnership between us and Greater Manchester Youth Network (GMYN).  The project will work with young people who are leaving or have left the care system from across Manchester and Rochdale.

Over the next three months, the groups will take part in Community Reporting sessions and learn how to create engaging video content to explore the theme of loneliness. At the same time, the groups will also take part in activities and games which explore the co-operative principles of self-help, equality and solidarity.

The launch event...

Yesterday’s event took place at Federation House, where the group filled the corridors with laughter as they got to know each other. They broke the ice in a rather unusual way, helping each other across the floor on icebergs (or large sheets of paper - use your imagination!) without letting anyone touch or drown in the sea (or floor!).

They then worked in teams of two to contribute to a mural of body parts- identifying some of the reasons they might feel isolated and thinking how to overcome them, before gathering together to watch examples of Community Reporting videos made by GMYN participants during previous projects.

The afternoon was rounded off by an animated co-operative game; two teams took on the challenge of designing and making bags complete with project logos, sales incentives and a whole lot of fabric paint. The challenge resulted in some incredible crafting and devious marketing strategies, all whilst learning the value of co-operative team work.

After an eventful afternoon, the team headed to Nando’s for a rewarding feast, where friendships were sealed over  chicken legs and hot sauce challenges. After the group meal, everyone poured out into the rainy streets of Manchester full of food, friendship and excitement for the rest of the project to come.

You can keep up to date with the project by following our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts and those of our Project Officer Cat, who is also on Twitter and Instagram .

Youth Co-operative action has been made possible with the support of the Co-operative Foundation’s #iwill fund.