Fersiwn Cymraeg yma.
'Our Space' summer camp kicks off in the Lake District
Just under one hundred 14-15 year-olds from all over England, Scotland and Wales and representative of the diversity of Britain's youth have come together in the Lake District to take part in the Commission's first 'Our Space' summer camp.
The young people will be participating in a variety of activities aimed at developing their leadership skills and increasing their confidence. On day one, they have learned map and compass reading and other trekking and orienteering skills.
Over the coming week we will be following the movements of the camp with online blogs, stories and images so check back daily to see how things are progressing.
Latest pictures from the camp
View the rest of the pictures in our gallery
Our Space diary
Day five
The fifth and final day of the Our Space summer camp project in brought both drama and an air of sadness that the weeks activities were nearly over.
The day kicked off with the Commission’s Croeso team leading a discussion in which the groups were encouraged to develop ideas for action they could take in their communities to eliminate discrimination. The discussions were extremely lively with some of the agreed suggestions including:
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volunteering with older people,
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running a school assembly to mark anti-bullying week, and
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encouraging more young people with disabilities to apply to attend the summer camps should they happen next year.
Shortly afterwards, Nicola Brewer, Chief Executive of the Commission, arrived at Lake Windermere just in time to catch the end of a team race involving canoeing and trekking. It was clear what strong bonds the young people had formed with peers within their teams, despite being strangers only days before.
Nicola led a closing ceremony, presenting certificates and medals to mark the campers’ achievements throughout the week. Then it was the time most had been dreading, it was time to say goodbye. Tears were shed, email addresses and mobile numbers were franticly exchanged, and urgent pleas were made for the Commission to hold a similar event next year!
Day four
So how did the outdoor campers fair with spending the night ‘roughing’ it in tents? After all the excitement of the day’s activities they were out like a light before the sun went down.
As the camp woke to bright blue skies there was an element of surprise at just how quick the week is going. On the day set to be the hottest of the year, it seemed the perfect setting for a group of campers to set out in canoes and explore the southern part of Lake Windermere. Their enthusiasm was contagious as they carried their waterproof gear and the lunch they enjoyed at a rest stop in a nearby island. Experienced trainers lead the expedition as it moves away from the shore.
Meanwhile another group of campers embarked on a session learning first aid skills. Human dummies are used to teach the group Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills and other emergency aid skills. Needless to say, the real life dummies and role play enactment keeps the keep the sessions lively.
"I dozed off like that," said one of the young people who spent the previous night in a tent. "I kept waking up every hour," said his tent-mate when asked why he refused to join others for a quick basketball match.
As the day drew to a close a group of young people discussed in small groups stereotypes and why it's important to question them. The discussions were lively and many people showed enthusiasm for becoming involved in equality-related projects after Our Space concludes tomorrow.
Day three
Neither the threatening clouds nor the cold water below them prevented the Our Space campers from sliding down a zip wire over Lake Windermere. This surprisingly popular activity is just one in a series of challenging tasks designed to encourage the groups to overcome difficulties through teamwork and training. The challenge was duly accepted and after a few gulps of courage (and a few shaky false starts) the campers made their way across the line to the safety of dry land on the other side of the lake.
Leadership and teamwork are important components of the Our Space programme so we got the participants take part in group exercises which help them understand how teamwork can help achieve demanding tasks. Some of these include using planks of wood and ropes to get from one end of a stream to the other without touching the water.
"It was difficult, but we managed to do it by working together," said a camper from Scotland. These exercises were complemented by leadership theory sessions in one of the week's evenings.
As the evening sun began to fade, another group of campers prepared to spend the night braving the elements with some good old fashioned outdoor camping. Lumpy grounds? Scary noises from the woods? We'll have a report on how this went tomorrow.
Day two
Day two at Our Space brought greyer skies to the Lake District, but the mood of the camp was as bright as ever.
Working with their teams, the groups have been participating in a variety of team-building, leadership and outdoor adventurous activities throughout the day.
On Tuesday afternoon, people arrived from the Commission’s Croeso project in Wales to deliver interactive equality and human rights training. The training was challenging, but very well received, and succeeded in encouraging the group to begin thinking about the relevance of these important issues in their world.
After the training, the group explained what they had learned:
‘Sometimes we offend people more when we are trying not to offend them.’
‘We live in a multicultural country, it’s about going round with people who are different and part of it is making compromises.’
Later in the week, the camp will be supported to put their enthusiasm into action as they develop ideas for projects to initiate in their schools or communities.
Already the young people are expressing real enthusiasm for becoming equality champions, and for staying in touch with the Commission and with each other through a specially designed page in the social networking site Bebo, which will also feature video diaries submitted by the young people throughout the week.
Day one
After the initial excitement of arriving on camp, we got down to work and divided the young people attending into groups where they would meet and make friendships with people from different walks of life. The groups then went off to discuss the role of equality and human rights in their lives and their communities, and how they would like to take action after the camp.
In an introductory session, the groups raised race, religion, equality, the voting age, and the availability of youth clubs, as some of the most important issues that affect young people today.
The vibe at the camp was very uplifting and from the first few hours on site we could already see groups of people mixing and getting a general understanding about one another’s individual cultures.
Our Space gallery
Background
Here at the Equality and Human Rights Commission we are dedicated to building a fairer and more equal society, where each of us is treated with dignity and respect. We particularly want to work with young people to help make our vision a reality. Together we can develop a generation without prejudice.
This year we'll be launching several projects for young people across Britain - to bring them together and to give them the time and space to get to know each other and to learn from each others' backgrounds and experiences. Our Space is one of these projects.
What is Our Space?
Our Space is being run in partnership with the youth organisation Skill Force who specialise in outdoor activities and leadership training for young people. Together we aim to provide an exciting week of adventure, challenges and life skill learning for 100 young people from different backgrounds across England, Scotland and Wales.