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Get into…Discrimination & Culture (Day Six)

27th February 2018

GET INTO… UNIVERSITY & DISCOVERIES

Wednesday the 21st, another sunny sky in Newcastle during our sixth day of exchange. Free time in the morning, Italian food for lunch (so disappointed I was sick and I missed it!), and then one step into University.

A meeting was arranged with some of the Law department teachers to talk about hate speak. Not an easy or a “light” topic, but hopefully something useful for them to understand dynamics and issues that can affect young people more than others.  Three University Students planned and delivered a thought provoking session around discrimination; it was iterative and factual.  Allowing young people to learn facts and figures and discuss the findings.

The conversation was interesting, as Sean and Kieran confirmed. Different types of bullying, what a punishment should be like, if worse than normal crime or not, discrimination and hate speech were the issues they covered throughout the afternoon. What Armaan from Newcastle was glad to find out were the statistics related to hate crime and how many people commit them; despite his young age, he was able to appreciate something like this and that in itself is a great result!

Then another walk to the Discovery Museum, one of the many free museums you can visit in Newcastle. It’s a warm, interactive place perfect for any age, with events and workshops that runs from time to time; yesterday, on the top floor, a big event about culture was there to give them even more information to bring back home.  Events such as the Big Culture event are a great way of showcasing how good Newcastle is at listening to the views of young people and involving them in decision making affecting themselves.  It was done in a way which was engaging using various mediums to gather young peoples thoughts.  Dancing, creative writing, music and art were just some of the memorable activities which created a platform for discussions around cultural experiences for young people.

Finally another dinner and nice time together, waiting for the last day of their exchange.

 

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