Our Country 2011

This event took place in May 2011.  A vibrant project, which enabled several different cultures,  all age groups and professions to learn about the community’s heritage, their history about living in Stevenage and their love for food and music. Some learning materials (in the form of DVD) were provided which the primary aged children had the pleasure of enjoying first hand when several communities visited schools to share their stories.  We thank the insightful schools and teachers who helped us to deliver this wonderful BIG Lottery Heritage Fund.

The ‘C’ Factor

The ‘C’ Factor is a series of interactive community-based workshops designed to bring diverse communities together, allowing them to share slices of their culture with others. Each workshop day revolves around different themes: Dance, Art, Traditional dress, and Life back home. This took place over four Saturdays in August and September 2010. Local community members are welcomed to experience a vast world of culture and gain insight into the richness of ethnic groups in the local area. The variety of the workshops gave a glimpse into the reality of other countries beyond what is perceived on a daily basis through limited sources shown by the media.

The first event, ‘Can’t Dance, Won’t Dance’, had all-aged members of the public learning the dance steps from around the world. Participants tapped their feet to an Irish Céili, danced to the Polonez (the national dance of Poland), learnt the sequence of an Indian dance and stepped to the beat of a Zimbabwean warrior dance. “The different dances were really good fun to join in together with the stories behind them were really interesting,” said one of the younger participants.

The second event, ‘Ready! Steady! Draw!’, focused on the ancient art-form of henna tattooing. Audience members, from the young to senior, had designs tattooed onto their hands and feet. Participants learnt about the origins of henna. Some took the opportunity to get creative by designing their own patterns.
A returning participant said: “The workshops were a great way of learning about different cultures in an interesting and fun way.”

At the third event, the theme of ‘Undress the Cultures!’ gave community members an insight into the colourful world of saris. The audience heard the many reasons of wearing saris in tropical countries (including the air coolness and practicality to do so). They learnt there are several different styles as to how a sari can be worn. Participants also had the opportunity to wear a sari in both the traditional and Gujarati style.  One participant said: “I have always been interested in learning how to wear a sari. It’s great to have had this opportunity today.”

The final event, ‘A day in the life of…’, provided community members with a glimpse of real life in three different countries. Amongst a host of topics, the participants found out about games played in Barbados, school days in Ireland and growing up in a village in South Africa. “My daughter now has an idea as to what life is really like overseas,” commented one participant.

Culture Street

A series of cultural-based interactive workshops which take place in a number of schools and play-schemes in Stevenage. Culture Street allows young children (aged between 7-14 years) to learn about different cultures within the Stevenage community.

Through these interactive workshops, the children have a chance to:

• Play drums to African rhythms
• Be artistic with batik painting
• Learn the dance to a traditional Indian epic
• Dance to Zimbabwean beats
• Paint with henna
• Tap to an Irish jig
• Learn about the Sikh culture
• Hear about Barbados
  
  The participating schools in the past were St. Vincent de Paul primary school, Featherstone Wood primary school and Barnwell secondary school. Pin Green Play Centre have also taken part in this project. Over 300 children benefited from these cultural workshops.

A separate series of workshops were also carried out to encourage school children to explore and record their family history. A Learning & Access Officer from Herts Archives worked with young people,to show them ancient records and methods of tracing their family history.

Comments from participating children included:

“Thank you for helping us learn about different cultures.”
“I thought it was really fun and our teacher was really good fun.”
“I thought that the drums were fantastic and I’d love to do it again.”

Across the Oceans

Across the Oceans documented, (on DVD and CD) the stories and journeys of 11 people who chose to settle in Stevenage for reasons of family, work and new opportunities.

Here are some samples of those stories.

Tom, The Philippines

“A year after my wife started working as a nurse in Lister Hospital, I moved to England, which was in 2002. It was freezing as I left the departure lounge at Heathrow airport in March. But I loved the drive coming to Stevenage – the trees and nature were almost the selling point. Stevenage is so organised and safe with its pedestrian walks etc. I immediately loved the place. And it was really good to know it was one of the new towns after the war. Being able to see so many trees was so different compared to Manila which is heavily industrialised. It really was like a fresh new breeze for me. But when I went to the town centre, I noticed the shops were open till only 5:30pm! In the Philippines, the shops are open till about 12am midnight, and most of the restaurants are open till about 3am. Maybe in London, it’s the same, but here in Stevenage, I was thinking ‘Oh no!’

Vyonne, Zimbabwe

“I came to England 26 years ago to do a Montessori nursery school course, with the intention of going back and starting my own nursery school in Harare. Initially, I lived in Stockwell, London, with my aunt for the first three years. I did my Montessori training and then worked in a Montessori school. During that time, while studying for another course, I met my husband in Stevenage. I liked London but I preferred Stevenage. I think I have always loved Stevenage because it reminded me very much of where I lived in Harare. A lot of the suburbs and places in Rhodesia (as Zimbabwe was known) were built along similar lines as here. In St. Martins where I lived back in Rhodesia, we had a lot of wooded area and many green and play areas like we have here. I think I knew even then that if I did get married and if I was going to stay in the UK, I definitely wasn’t going to stay in London.”