Richard Luscombe Students and staff at Ivybridge Community College celebrated multiculturalism and diversity during Culture Week, hosted by Argyle Community Trust in collaboration with local partners.
Last year Ivybridge Community College approached us to support their response to racially motivated incidents. Together we set out the ambition of empowering young people with lived experience of discrimination to create a legacy of anti-racist behaviour change.
As part of our commitment to youth voice and equality, diversity, and inclusion, Community Programmes Lead Kadus Smith worked with their Youth Council to create Culture Fest – a celebration of identity that educated students on race and respect.
Following the success of last year’s event, we and the school’s staff and students were determined to continue the momentum of positive change. From this, Culture Week was born – engaging over 600 young people in a festival of diversity. Over the week, fellow community organisations that share our passion for representation delivered interactive workshops in a collaboration dedicated to making a difference and changing attitudes.
Representatives from The Box delivered a captivating session that educated students on the Windrush generation, whilst professional chef Don Spencer celebrated culture through food. The Plymouth and Devon Racial Equality Council explored inclusivity in communities and Devon and Cornwall Police’s Diverse Communities Team encouraged the students to reflect on the ramifications of hate speech.
This was followed by a live question-and-answer session hosted by students, where experts in equality, diversity, and inclusion captivated the audience with personal reflections and stories of their own experiences.
A delicious lunch of world cuisines was provided by Mama Rita’s, with some young people experiencing many of these foods for the first time.
Darby Ball, Ivybridge Community College’s dedicated Equality and Diversity Lead, said: “Our college culture continues to shift towards an increased ethos of respect, integrity, and anti-discrimination. We have had no repeat offenders this academic year in terms of racist incidents after the workshops you have completed with students who demonstrated discriminatory behaviour or language.”
Kadus Smith, Community Programmes Lead at Argyle Community Trust, said: “It has been a massive achievement from everyone involved, and it is so pleasing to see the power of collaboration. It is great to see the school being proactive in dealing with these matters and seeing how we can facilitate systemic change using partners and the power of young people.
“It has been a proud moment for the Trust and for me personally seeing everyone be so passionate and making a stand against a very big issue in society.”
This work embodies our commitment to equality and representation. Through our extensive community programmes and dedicated EDI steering group, we seek to create an inclusive society for all.
For more information on our workshops, Culture Week, and how we support young people to drive strategic change, contact kadus.smith@pafc.co.uk.
