Inclusion is a powerful phenomenon. To be included is to have one’s voice heard, honoured, and celebrated. Inclusion is the social glue of communities, it’s what makes them stronger, establishing meaningful relationships brimming with respect. An inclusive community is one in which no individual is alone.
The Wheatley Hill community came together to create a piece of music – a ‘Jubilee Anthem’. This anthem, however, was not an ode to the Queen, rather it was a song about Wheatley Hill and the invaluable Greenhills Centre that sits at its heart. A small team of artists, facilitators, musicians, and videographers worked with numerous school and community centre groups to create a truly intergenerational song. This process was documented throughout and the audio and video recorded was used to create a video to accompany the music.
The community were invited to come and view the video at the Greenhills Centre. They were invited to explore all of the photos, images, music and film captured throughout the project. Children and adults alike were struck with excitement and joy as they saw that their participation and contribution had been captured and now honoured in a digital collection for all of their peers, colleagues, friends and family to see. Watching each individual recognise themselves as included in this way was extremely special, a small but powerful moment of recognition and celebration made possible by a well-planned participatory project that included a strategy for documenting and sharing the work using Living Archive.
The Greenhills Centre Living Archive now lives on the Centre’s website so that the entire community can continue to document and share in the activities and celebrations that make Wheatley Hill so special. Living Archive gives Greenhills Centre an outreaching legacy that will always be there to remind the community that they are heard, honoured and celebrated. In these often uncertain times, projects that catalyse inclusion so affectively are a true jewel in the crown.
If you would like to know more about how Living Archive can help your community or organisation preserve, develop and share its legacy, please get in touch via our contact page.
You can view the Jubilee Anthem here
You can explore the Greenhills Centre Living Archive here (see Our Archive):
Photo's for this blog by Von Fox Promotions courtesy of Green hills Community Centre
Comments