Projects UK Co-operative College Online Youth Series Following the outbreak of coronavirus in spring 2020, we took our youth projects online throughout the lockdowns. The one hour sessions we ran focused on the key themes of cooperation, community and social action. Developed in collaboration with many of our young people, they were all designed to offer help and support through tough times. Featuring a variety of guest speakers, the sessions saw a number of fun interactive activities take place, providing young people with the chance to decide who they want to hear from and what topics they wanted to discuss. Open to young people between the ages of 12 - 20 years old, they ran every Tuesday from 1:30pm - 3:00pm via zoom. More information on each of the sessions is available below. Previous Sessions Session one - Introduction to Online Youth Sessions Series 28 April 2020 1:30pm - 2:30pm Our project co-ordinator Daniel Cox led the introductory session, running through what our plans are during Covid-19 and giving an overview of how we can help, including tips for coping during lockdown. There was an interactive quiz and a chance for participants to ask any questions they had directly to our projects team too. Recap what happened in the session Session Two - Accepting the Change, Transforming your Perspective 5 May 2020 1:30pm - 2:30pm This session was led by guest host Louis Howell and focused on accepting the (admittedly drastic) change that lockdown posed. We explored how to stay motivated during this time and dscussed how to go about seeing positive opportunities to develop yourself and your community in this time. The session also examined how young people are adjusting and gave practical, positive tips as well as activities for them to do. Recap what happened in the session Session Three - Where There’s a Seed, There’s a Way! 12 May 2020 1:30pm - 2:30pm In this session the group met guest hosts horticultural therapists Michelle Garrity and Hayley Watson and learnt about their work and organisation, ‘Get up and Grow!’ They engaged in some interactive planting, growing and learning, focusing on the benefits that gardening can have on mental health and wellbeing. They also explored the creative side to engaging in nature, participating in arts and craft activities. Recap what happened in the session Session Four - Mental Health, Me and Technology 19 May 2020 1:30pm - 2:30pm This session was led by guest host, Omar Latif and focused on mental health. It explored how technology ad self-help can combine and examined how to best access support online. There was a focus on the importance of humour and connectivity during the current crisis, as well as the usual fun and games! We also discussed issues around young people and their technological preferences when accessing support, including how to stay safe online. Recap what happened in the session Session Five - Your Session 26 May 2020 1:30pm - 2:30pm We always strive to make our projects as participant led as possible and have asked for input and ideas from the group for this session. They decided to focus on what young people could do during lockdown that's productive, useful and above all else, fun! Recap what happened in the session Session Six - Social Action Hackathon! 2 June 2020 1:30pm - 2:30pm This session saw the return of popular guest host Louis Howell. It centred on a mini-hackathon theme, giving participants the space to not only generate ideas, but to troubleshoot and pitch ideas on what social action young people can do during Covid-19. There was also an opportunity for them to build on the ideas post-session and develop their plans into future campaigns - watch this space for more news soon! Recap what happened in the session Session Seven - Horrible Histories, Bright Beginnings! 9 June 2020 1:30pm - 2:30pm Do you know how the co-operative movement started or just how grim life was in the Victorian era? Can you guess the average life expectancy or the bogus ingredients added to most foods? Can you see the links between their lives then, and ours now? This session saw Kate Woodward from the Rochdale Pioneers Museum join as guest host, leading all the young people on a journey back in time to the 1800's and they saw what life was really like during the birth of the UK co-operative movement. Recap what happened in the session Session Eight - Healthy body, Healthy Mind, Happy Human! 16 June 2020 1:30pm - 3pm Whether you are fighting fit or running from exercise we all need to be active, especially during lockdown. We welcomed guest host and fitness coach Obinna Wray who shared his top tips for keeping fit, including exercises from his roles at both MCRactive and Manchester City Football Club. Recap what happened in the session Session Nine - Youth Social Action 23 June 2020 1:30pm - 3pm This session focused on the theme of social action, building on what's was learnt from previous weeks. This included expanding on some of the brilliant ideas that came out of the Social Action Hackathon event held at the start of June with guest speaker Louis Howell. Don't worry if you didn't get chance to join that session - come along and learn how to start and sustain social action for meaningful causes! Recap what happened in the session Session Ten - Lights, Camera, Activism! 30 June 2020 1:30pm - 3pm Session ten saw award winning filmmaker Matt Kay join us as we explored the relationship between film and activism. The arts have always played an essential role in how society envisions its future and frames its past, so it is no surprise that film and activism go hand in hand when it comes to challenging the norm. We learnt about what it takes to become a filmmaker and explored how the medium links to political and social change. Recap what happened in the session Session Eleven - Ripples of Hope - Rights in the Modern World 7 July 2020 1:30pm - 3pm This session saw guest host and educator Sarah Boyle join us as we explored what the Ripples of Hope project is and how we can use it to better understand human rights in our modern world. Recap what happened in the session Session Twelve - Your Session 14 July 2020 1:30pm - 3pm This session saw the participants take control, deciding on the theme themselves! They developed their very own session, focused on the things that they're most interested in. Recap what happened in the session Session Thirteen - Life as a Young Leader: Manager, Creative, Activist. 21 July 2020 1:30pm - 3pm Life as a young person is full of questions, change and uncertainty, and never more so than now! This session saw guest host, project manager, creative and activist Olivia Lee share her story on how she's established herself as a young leader through her work with a variety of organisations and projects in the local community. Recap what happened in the session Session Fourteen - Your Session 28 July 2020 1:30pm - 3pm This session's focus turned to the environment, with the content and topics of what to talk about decided by our young people! Recap what happened in the session Session Fifteen - Your Session - Mental Health 4 August 2020 1:30pm - 3pm This session saw the focus turn to mental health, with the content and topics of what to talk about decided by our young people! Recap what happened in the session Session Sixteen - Young Voices Matter! In Conversation with Co-op’s Young Members 11 August 2020 1:30pm - 3pm Della McDonald and Deirdre MacMahon joined us for session sixteen of our Online Youth Series. As two young co-operators with their own stories to share, they both work tirelessly to make sure young voices are heard in Co-op Group – the UK’s largest consumer co-operative. Recap what the session covered Session Seventeen - Musically Minded : Thinking in Tune with Youth Creativity 18 August 2020 1:30pm - 3pm We were joined by musician and producer James Mayer as we explored the creative and expressive nature of all things music! Recap what the session covered Session Eighteen - Together not Alone! Tackling Youth Loneliness 25 August 2020 1:30pm - 3pm According to recent studies, loneliness affects young people between the ages of 14 - 25 more than any other age group! Recap what happened in the session If you have any questions about the sessions the please get in touch via the button below and a member of our team will get back to you. [email protected] Manage Cookie Preferences