Collaborators
- Plymouth & Devon Racial Equality Council
- Four Greens Community Trust CIC
- The Conscious Sisters CIC
Briefly describe your project
The aim of the Kite Flying Festival is to bring people of all ages, abilities and cultures together to celebrate the diversity of the City. We anticipate that there will be 150-200 people attending the free colourful and vibrant Festival on Plymouth Hoe on 01.07.2023. There will be 6 kite making workshops throughout the City, in communities/schools, looking at the cultural importance of Kites throughout the world. There will also be workshops online, along with people talking about what Kites mean to them. We will also have a free kite making workshop at the festival to be inclusive to all.
Describe what you hope your Collective will achieve
From India to Brazil, kite flying is a beloved pastime and we want to bring that joy to Plymouth! In doing this we also hope to bring people together to look at the commonalities that we share and breakdown negative myths and bias to build a more friendly and caring society. This is even more important during the time of finanical crisis, where people seek to blame ‘the other’ for their situation.
The event is totally free to be inclusive for all. We will be running a series of free workshops in various communities (including learning disabilities) and schools, prior to the festival and will have a workshop on the day, so that everyone will be able to participate in the kite flying fun.
We also hope that the festival will help to improve the mental health and well being of families and individuals by encouraging them to take part in outdoor activities, make new friends and networks.
The online kite flying workshop and online collection of stories about Kite flying will be a continuing resource for schools and community groups.
The event is totally free to be inclusive for all. We will be running a series of free workshops in various communities (including learning disabilities) and schools, prior to the festival and will have a workshop on the day, so that everyone will be able to participate in the kite flying fun.
We also hope that the festival will help to improve the mental health and well being of families and individuals by encouraging them to take part in outdoor activities, make new friends and networks.
The online kite flying workshop and online collection of stories about Kite flying will be a continuing resource for schools and community groups.
Describe how your Collective formed
The collective has formed over 2 decades with informal collective work between Karen Evans from The Conscious Sisters CIC and Isatta Kallon, who now works for Four Greens Community Trust CIC, on a wide variety of events and activities including the Annual Respect Festival, International Women’s Day and PDRECs women’s group.
The 3 organisations have come together to organise the Respect International Kite Flying Event as we all idenfify this event as a fun way of bringing the communities that we work with together with the rest of the city.
We are natural partners in the collective because we have worked in partnership many times together and have shared values and ideals about grassroots community work and the benefits of working collaboratively together to support people in Plymouth.
We hope that there is a lasting legacy in the city with an annual kite flying festival that will grow year on year, bringing people together, as well as encouraging people from diverse communities to go out to parks and other green areas to fly kites and have fun.
The 3 organisations have come together to organise the Respect International Kite Flying Event as we all idenfify this event as a fun way of bringing the communities that we work with together with the rest of the city.
We are natural partners in the collective because we have worked in partnership many times together and have shared values and ideals about grassroots community work and the benefits of working collaboratively together to support people in Plymouth.
We hope that there is a lasting legacy in the city with an annual kite flying festival that will grow year on year, bringing people together, as well as encouraging people from diverse communities to go out to parks and other green areas to fly kites and have fun.
During the first round, POP members will be asked to advise you. What advice would be most helpful?
PDREC and the International Kite Flying Festival Collective would appreciate advice on how to publcise the event to POP members an optain postive votes to enable us to deliver the festival and workshops.
Which collaboration “shape” do you expect will best describe your project?
HUB AND SPOKE – Like a bike wheel, one organisation holds things together at the centre, while other organisations perform specific tasks
In which areas would you expect most of your grant to be spent?
Events