Jump

Jump

The Jump Studio's Journal

April & May Youth Council Meeting

by Leave a Comment

April Youth Council

In April, the Youth Council recorded their meeting as a way to share their ideas and discussions. With the main studio mic-ed up and ready, to go we started the session by sharing the positive news that local community voices have driven change and helped sign off the new MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) which is being built on Filwood Fields.

This recent example of local voices being turned into action excited the committee and we spent some time mind mapping other changes we would like to see in Filwood. Some examples the young people came up with were: a bakery, a craft shop and a cafe where you can adopt animals.

The Youth Council mic-ed up in the main studio

A young person raised the matter of local concern in the last session about the proposed 5G mast that is being built in Redcatch Park. The group decided to investigate further and we did some self-led research. They searched the internet for stats, facts and forums before gathering information and reporting back.

We discussed the power of protesting and the young people decided on short snappy slogans to capture their beliefs about the mast. Examples were turned into placards which we later laser cut at KWMC.

The Youth Council presenting their placards

The rest of the session was spent thinking about some internal development within KWMC. The training rooms are undergoing a makeover so we went on a recce to check out the space and the young people shared their ideas about how we could change the space to suit their needs during Jump Studio sessions. 

After discussing plans as a group the team learnt how to use 3D design software; TinkerCAD to digitally design their ideal training room layout. The young people came up with some innovative ideas and supported them with advanced technical 3D designs. 

A Youth Council member using TinkerCAD to design their ideal training room

May Youth Council

Our May Youth Council session landed on the local referendum voting day. The main studio of KWMC was being used as a polling station so we created a mini polling station upstairs in the Western Room where the committee were given faux polling cards and were asked to vote on the real-life referendum. 

100% of the group voted that Bristol City Council should be run by 70 people as opposed to it being run by 1 mayor like it is at the moment. The young people discussed the pro’s and con’s of their democratic vote;

Pro’s of the Council being ran by 70 people:

  • Wanting something new  
  • Different ideas  
  • Different brain cells  
  • What if the mayor’s idea isn’t what the people want 
  • Different agreements  
  • Compromising and mixing different ideas together  
  • Think more about the community around Bristol  
  • Hold each other accountable for their actions  
  • Realising the risks that 1 person might not think about  
  • Democracy  

Cons;

  • Some people might disagree, it could cause arguments  

The young people then went on to discuss the legal age to vote. They were advocating that the law should change so that when young people reach Key Stage 4 at the age of 14 they should be allowed to vote. They believe there should be more information on the voting system at schools, in museums, and on the Tuesday night TV programme, ‘News Round’. Conversations emerged about the history of women’s ability to vote and the young people shared information they had about this topic. 

The young people spent the rest of the session thinking about their personal KWMC stories; how they first got involved with KWMC and how their journey has grown and developed. This was an opportunity for them to reflect on the impact KWMC has had on their lives and how they would like to stay connected in the future and help mould future projects.

To find out more about the Youth Council please contact jumpstudios@kwmc.org.uk 

Mental Health Awareness Week At Jump Studios

by Leave a Comment

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and at Jump Studios, we have been incorporating mental health into our programme of after-school sessions throughout the entire of our last term and as we are in the opening stages of this term, we thought this week would be a good opportunity to revisit the theme.

We engaged with the theme by using games before designing and creating things that are associated with the young people’s reflections on mental health.

Based on the 5 steps of Mental Health and Wellbeing, we began sessions with a physical warm-up where the group intentionally walked around outside ‘Taking Notice’ of their breathing and their senses.

One-by-one, we introduced the other 4 steps.

When the word ‘Give’ was called out, the young people gestured to one another and gave each other a smile. When the word ‘Connect’ was called out they would walk up to the person closest to them and touch elbows. When ‘Be Active’ was called the young people did a star jump and for ‘Keep Learning’ they made a gesture to symbolise learning.

This exercise gave the young people a moment of their day to reflect and connect with themselves and their friends.

The theme continued into our sessions as they design and created projects based on Mental Health.

We have frequently found that the topic of mental health is always well received and treated with complete seriousness and maturity by the young people of Jump Studios, which is an exciting prospect to know that the next generation are so in touch with a topic that has potentially been neglected in the past.

We look forward to continuing this theme throughout the work we do with the young people at Knowle West Media Centre.

Young People’s Photography Showcase At We The Curious

by Leave a Comment

The final photography exhibition held at We The Curious

In October 2021, Jump Studios ran a Photography Programme for 10–16 year-olds throughout the half-term holidays. The programme featured a day where the young people got to learn and collaborate with We The Curious. The goal was to produce a photograph that expressed their take on climate change, in the community, for COP-26.

A lot of the young people had never used a DSLR camera before so Jump Studios spent the morning running creative workshops at We The Curious, before heading out onto the harbour for them to put their new skills into action.

Young people taking photos at Filwood Community Centre

The goal was to produce one photo, with their storytelling and social action skills that they have been learning in after-school sessions at Jump, that creatively expresses their views on climate change. Aside from this, the trip allowed young people to meet new peers and explore new parts of central Bristol.

A young person capturing the scenes of Bristol Harbour

“ It was nice having a walk around town. We got to see the ducks, the pigeons and I learnt how to use a DSLR camera.”

Young person

The exhibition was such a success; the young people wanted to send their work to We The Curious in hope of being chosen for the public COP-26 exhibition in central Bristol.

We were delighted when we found out the young people’s work was being displayed and We The Curious also gave out some free family memberships for the young people involved.

You can now find the work exhibited in our very own main studio at Knowle West Media Centre.

An image captured by a young person presented at Knowle West Media Centre

We are going to be running another Photography Holiday Programme over the summer.

Please get in touch via megan@kwmc.org.uk or jumpstudios@kwmc.org.uk if you know a young person who would like to be involved!

Amplifying Local Young People’s Voices over a Cuppa’

by Leave a Comment

The Knowle West Media Centre‘s young people’s team hosted their first Tea and Coffee morning this January.

The event was set up to be an open space for anyone working in the local area to come along and find out what people are up to, shout about any amazing opportunities other organisations have coming up, and chat more about how best we can support local young people. Plus, it wouldn’t be right without a cuppa and some biscuits.

We were joined by Robins Foundation, Unique Voice, Youth Moves, and a local illustrator.

I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about how the morning went so you can get an idea of what we’re up to and hopefully, join us for a cuppa at the next one.

We started off with some informal introductions to find out what we all do, what ages we work with, and what areas we work in.

We had some flip chart paper set up with some questions, that we thought were of interest to those working in the area, and it was a great way to get the conversations flowing!

Here are the notes that were made around the topics we chatted about: 

Firstly, on ‘What works well when working with young people in Knowle West / South Bristol?‘

  • Having a “logo” to that young people know who we are
  • One-to-one approaches
  • Being reactive

‘How can we best support each other and others working with young people in the area?’

  • Advertise sessions in local schools
  • Combine the ‘Youth Council’ from Robins, KWMC, Youth Moves and Youth Voice
  • Sit with young people, sign-post, and sign-up to other services directly with them
  • Networking and finding out what is on
  • Attending sessions with young people

‘What areas do you work in?‘

  • Filwood
  • Hartcliffe
  • SBSC
  • Stockwood
  • Knowle West

‘What do we want to improve when working with young people in 2022?’

  • Asking young people what they want and need, before delivering it collaboratively
  • Not losing contact if they go quiet
  • Transport
  • Access
  • Engagement
  • Youth Zone to have more collaboration and have other organisations working alongside Youth Moves
  • Mobile Skate Park with KWMC Blocks

‘What would you like to start asking young people, so youth voice is at the forefront of what we do?’

  • Youth Council socials so young people can get together to discuss what is important
  • ‘How can we collaborate more?’

After these discussions, we spent some time highlighting some projects that were happening (My Future Self – Unique Voice, Primary Holiday Programmes, Future Legacy Project, and FAMBALL) and what training we have found useful (Gaming Training, Mental Health and Wellbeing Resilience and Mental Health First Aid).

Clara leading a group of young women and non-binary people in our 2021 Future Legacy Project retreat.

Finally, KWMC used the opportunity to highlight Eight Creative Agency and the work they do for young, emerging creatives (18-30).

A photo of an artist performing at a Sound Wave event, ran by Jump Studios and filmed by Eight Creative Agency.

These conversations proved invaluable and really got us excited about looking ahead to the potential of a bi-monthly meetup that can bring together South Bristol services that are working for young people, in order to amplify their voices.

If you would be interested in coming to an event like this then the next one will be on the 24th of March from 9.30 – 11.30 am at Knowle West Media Centre.

This month, we are going to be focusing on youth voice and how we can bring youth councils in the area together to amplify young people’s voices in decision-making in South Bristol.

If you are working nearby as part of an organisation, a freelancer, part of the council or you would like to lend an ear to find out more about how we aim to support South Bristol young people collectively, please get in touch by emailing clara@kwmc.org.uk and we will be happy to welcome and accommodate you at our event.

Young People Can Make: Summer Spirit

by Leave a Comment

Over the summer break here at Jump Studios, we having been hosting a number of workshops. Most recently, we have been working with the ‘We Can Make’ team to help introduce sustainable community architecture to the young people.

What have we been up to?

Now that the schools have broken up for the summer holidays what better time to get creative with Jump. With our enrichment activities we’ve been organising, young people will now get the opportunity, outside of school, to learn new skills while having fun! By partnering up with the ‘We Can Make‘ project, young people now have the chance to construct sustainable models of their choice. They use a scaled down version of the Lego-like building blocks that those at ‘We Can Make‘ are using to build housing amongst the community.

Young People Can Make is a collaboration with Jump Studios, local young people, We Can Make and automated architecture. The young people gained some valuable design skills and were able to get first-hand experience working with the construction blocks. They were given a design mission to re-mix the main studio at KWMC! The final product was absolutely brilliant, they worked so well as a team and combined everyone’s ideas to create a really useful, imaginative design. There was a hangout seating area, different levels and space to display things during an exhibition. They even thought about incorporating a podium for people to present during workings and meetings! The structure they created had three parts and you could configure it in different ways, meaning that it is multipurpose, portable and looks really cool! One young person said “I feel really proud of myself” At age 10 she had contributed her ideas, learnt how to design the app and got on the power tools to fix the final product together.

CLARA COLLETT, Project Manager (Young People and Creative Tech)

What is Young People Can Make?

Young People Can Make is a subsidiary of ‘We Can Make‘ which focuses on involving the younger generation in community driven projects in regards to housing development. ‘We Can Make‘ is striving to create sustainable living firstly within Knowle West then the whole of the U.K, whereas YPCM gets children involved so they can have an understanding of what is going on whilst contributing. At YPCM, those involved are given the opportunity to create and manifest any ideas that they’ve had, in terms of structures and buildings. This could be houses, bridges, community centres and anything their imagination will allow them to produce.

What we aim to achieve?

With Young People Can Make, we hope to guide the new generation with an understanding of sustainable living, as the children of today will be the adults of the tomorrow. It is important for us here at Jump to pass on valuable information which will aid them and offer them the relevant knowledge that could change the world for the better.

It was great witnessing young people’s imaginative ideas highlight what was missing in a space that could be brought to life through the creative process of digital design to physical construction.

MIKE MOAST, Project Manager (Young People and Music)

If you want to follow us for updates on spaces in the sessions, opportunities for young people and sharing some of the work they have been up to – you can follow us on Instagram or Twitter.

Jump Studios Stories: Jack Louis Cooper

by Leave a Comment

We sat down and spoke with musician Jack Louis Cooper about his experiences with Jump Studios and how they have impacted his life.

We first met Jack during The Male Room programme in 2018. This was a programme we ran to support young men in exploring their own masculine identity whilst simultaneously developing their skills as creative professionals.

Jack (middle) with some of the participants of ‘The Male Room’ project in 2018.

Jack met multiple future collaborators and friends on the programme, whom he still works with to this day.

Soon after ‘The Male Room’, Jack was heavily involved in our Sound Wave: Retreat which led him to becoming one of our volunteer Youth Facilitators in our after-school sessions.

Jack leading in a Sound Wave session on a Wednesday afternoon.

In the interview we recorded with Jack, he talks about his own experiences in education and how important he finds after-school sessions in a young persons personal development.

Jack has been working with us for multiple years now and we can’t wait to see how he progresses both professionally and creatively.

If you want to follow Jack’s music, then you can do so at his Instagram found here.

Keep up to date with our journey by following Jump Studios on Instagram and Twitter.

Why young people want to say ‘Climate Emergency’ and not ‘Climate Change’.

by Leave a Comment

During a recent after-school session with young people, the issue of ‘Climate Change’ came up once again and this prompted a larger conversation: is that the best way to describe it?

We recognise that at Jump Studios we have a responsibility to sensibly facilitate the conversations between young people around social action.

Topics like racism and sustainability often, and understandably, come up in conversations with the young people that come to our sessions. It’s our job to ensure that the conversation takes place without bias and political influence from our side.

We recently held a session where a young person challenged the term ‘Climate Change’ and prompted us questioning whether this is something which now transcends politics.

What you need to know about the Climate Emergency:

  • Climate change is real and human activities are the main cause.
  • The concentration of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere is directly linked to the average global temperature on Earth.
  • The concentration has been rising steadily, and mean global temperatures along with it, since the time of the Industrial Revolution.
  • The most abundant greenhouse gas, accounting for about two-thirds of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), is largely the product of burning fossil fuels.
  • Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is responsible for more than 25 per cent of the warming we are experiencing today. It is a powerful pollutant with a global warming potential over 80 times greater than CO2 during the 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere.

Source: UNEP

What is the problem with saying ‘Climate Change’?

What we gathered from the discussion is that young people undoubtedly appreciate the importance of the environment and realise the negative impact humans are having on it.

They also deemed that climate ‘change’ was too natural a term and that we could do more to address the situation. One young person summarised the issue very well:

“Change is neutral. Emergency is now”

2019 was the second hottest year on record (source: WMO) and suggesting that it is simply ‘different’ is the equivalent of suggesting a pan of boiling water ‘isn’t cold’. Whilst true, it is certainly misleading.

We have an opportunity at Jump Studios to help influence social action through the next generation and this is not a question of what we think is right, rather what the young people think. We don’t need to give lectures on these issues because, even amongst young people aged 10 to 14, they already know the challenge we face.

We are not looking to change the discourse on the topic but rather give it a more suitable terminology.

Source: Getty Images from BBC News.

Why ‘Climate Emergency’?

The reason is simply that it is just that, an emergency.

If the next generation can be raised beginning the conversation with ‘Climate Emergency’ as opposed to just ‘Change’ then the next generation can be using the terminology that they deem suitable.

What can you do?

If you, or somebody you know, work with young people, then consider asking them what they think is a more fitting term: ‘Climate Change’ or ‘Climate Emergency’.

We’ve found with the young people that attend our sessions that these issues are well-established in their discourse and that they want to talk about it.

It’s up to us to give them the best opportunity to grow up and help positively change the society we live in.

If you have any questions, then feel free to email me at scott@kwmc.org.uk to discuss why we have made this decision or how we are implementing it.

Keep up to date with our journey by following Jump Studios on Instagram and Twitter.

Our Impact from November 2020 to March 2021

by Leave a Comment

We wanted to look back and reflect on the impact we have made on young people over the last few months. So here are a sample of statistics we’ve gathered together:

50 Virtual Sessions

This last year, we’ve had to deal with running after-school sessions in a lockdown. Whilst this has been a journey in itself, we’ve proudly managed to deliver 50 virtual sessions to young people in the area to get them engaged with arts, technology and social action.

45 Young People in our Weekly Sessions

We are always blown away by the young people that come to our sessions on a weekly basis and it is incredible to see the progress they make throughout the months (and more) that they spend with us.

Young People, like Manu, have been attending sessions for much longer than just one term and we hope to be a part of their lives as they grow even further.

Since we reopened our doors, we’ve seen 45 young people coming through our doors on a weekly basis.

Young People turning up for one of our after-school sessions.

20 Videos Produced for Clients

The last four months has seen the Eight Creative Agency create 20 different videos for clients. That means over twenty established and emerging creatives being paid to work on exciting, paid projects in the Bristol area.

The most recent projects that Eight have produced have been with the South West Creative Technology Network, where they were capturing stories of data prototype projects.

20 One-to-One Support Sessions

One of the services we provide to young people is one-to-support sessions to help guide them on b0th a personal and professional level.

The last few months, we’ve been able to offer twenty of those sessions to young people in the Bristol area.

16 KWMC Staff in Coaching Training

Part of what makes the Knowle West Media Centre amazing is our approach to coaching (a learning process which aims to grow individuals awareness, responsibility and choice) and over recent months, we currently have 16 staff at Knowle West Media Centre in coaching training.

This means that our staff will be more equipped to listen, adopt a growth mindset and raise their aspirations which is a fantastic tool when working with young people.

15 Young People in Half-Term Sessions

This February half-term, we ran the ‘Young People Can Make’ programme for 15 young people in the area.

Over the week, this was a chance to engage young people with design projects and prototypes that helped tackle social action issues like racism and climate change.

A snap from our Jump Studios team welcoming a couple of young people to the week of sessions.

14 Young People Kickstarting their Arts Award

14 young people have made the exciting step to kick off their arts award. The award is a nationally recognised qualification enabling the young people to progress into further education and employment.

We cannot wait to see how the journeys to get their Bronze Arts Award progress and what they will learn.

12 Creatives Supported

As part of Eight, we have managed to get 12 emerging creatives paid work to support them in the creative industries.

For examples, our recent project with Filwood Fantastic involved the two amazing creatives: Monica Tuffs and Keira Needham.

Check in with us later in 2021 for our next impact report.

Keep up to date with our journey by following Jump Studios on Instagram and Twitter.