Windrush Day Onboard MV Balmoral

The goal was to inform the youth on the contribution of our elders, while providing inspiring resources to help educate and inform. Together, we  delivered an innovative project for Windrush Day that will be made fully accessible to children online. Young individuals will be able to share their creative responses to the stories they learn of our Windrush Pioneers.

Poetry

In addition, poet Manu Maunganidze had devised a workshop which was  delivered to schools online. This will help to encourage young people to gain skills in expressing their own emotions around the Windrush celebration themes through the arts.

Manu initiated sessions online with individual classes, and provided comment on young people’s poetry. The outcomes were celebrated on Windrush Day, when Manu led a session streamed live from the Balmoral at Bristol’s Harbourside.

Animation

In the run-up to Windrush Celebration day an animation was developed by Bristol filmmaker Michael D. Jenkins of 8th Sense Media. In collaboration with author Roger Griffith, the short film celebrated the lives and achievements of the Windrush Generation, who have settled in the United Kingdom.

Devised and co-ordinated by My Future My Choice, the animated film brings this rich history to life in order to raise an understanding, and the aspirations of young people living in Bristol, as well as connecting them with their heritage.

Narrated by broadcast journalist Primrose Granville, it included reflections from Elders of the Windrush Generation. Premiering live from the Balmoral, this film is now widely available, and is of interest to schools and home learners as a stimulus to understand how migration has affected our lives positively.

You can find out more about Michael and 8th Sense Media by clicking here, and if you wish to learn more about the illustrations, they were created specially by Fefus Designs.

Radio Replay

Earlier in the day, the Balmoral featured in a broadcast on Ujima Radio. If you wish to listen to the replay, you can hear it again by clicking: Play here.

Begins at: 1:28:16 – Interview with Polly Barnes, My Future My Choice: 

Begins at: 1:39:41 – Discover learning projects and poetry reading with Manu:

Next Steps

Original school workshops that were planned to take place on the day, took place in October 2020 to coincide with Black History Month. Aimed at 9 to 12 year old’s, these workshops are cross-curricular, exploring migration through the arts, social history and science with diverse topics such as navigation, stability, pulley systems and the experience of leaving home.

The breadth of approach is mirrored by the intent that this project is inclusive and inter-generational. Workshops can only take place with the generous support of our incredible funders, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.