Birmingham is full of inspirational young people and there’s one emerging young leader hailing from Kingstanding who is ready to creatively tackle the intergenerational segregation affecting our city and beyond.
Creative Director and founder of YEP Media, Daniel Blyden has been exploring public opinion on intergenerational relationships through a blog site entitled ‘The Lost Links.’ The project was founded through a social action campaign he had been working on with the Young Foundation’s UpRising Youth Leadership Programme in early 2011. Along with a small team of volunteers, the project is now preparing to take form offline, starting with a conference open to the general public at Aston University on the 12th April 2012.
The conference will be followed by a series of workshops in which a group of under 21s and over 50s will engage with each other through creative social activities. These activities will include creating short films about each other’s lives and experiences living in Birmingham styling one another in current vintage fashion trends courtesy of local vintage boutique ‘Forgotten Vintage’ and Birmingham Settlement Charity shops. The project will culminate with an intergenerational community event featuring a fashion show where participants will model their designated outfits along with musical entertainment taking place on May Day Bank Holiday Monday 7th May 2012.
Daniel states “I strongly believe that the wisdom and experiences of the old coupled with the strength and energy of the youth are what will move society forward effectively. I have responded by doing something small within my community and I hope that it will make us think about making friends across different generations.”
The project has been funded by Unltd, a charity that supports social entrepreneurs who want to change the world for the better. Shamiela Ahmed, Team Manager from Unltd said “Daniel is a young man who has shown a strong commitment to intergenerational issues, the UnLtd Level 1 Award allows him to explore the reasons behind intergenerational segregation and create an opportunity for both generations to engage in positive interaction with one another creating a positive impact in the community.”
If you would like to get involved, Daniel will be hosting a Discussion Conference this Thursday 12th April 2012 at Aston University which is open to the general public. Register your space at http://hereiamconference.eventbrite.com
Twitter: @thelostlinks
This is great! Any chance we can get in contact? We are running the citywide investigation into social inclusions…and be great to hear the work that you are doing especially to hear how the conference went.
richard.browne@birmingham.gov.uk
fairbrum.wordpress.com
@fairbrum