Above: Endeavour High School website

Campaign! Make an Impact is an innovative project in which children change their lives through engagement with museum and library collections. First they study a historic campaign such as the movement for the abolition of the slave trade or the struggle for votes for women. Then inspired by the past, pupils use their new skills to plan and run modern day campaigns about issues that affect them today. Results of the project have been described as "phenomenal" with pupils learning from the past to change their environments, their futures and raise their self-esteem.

As part of the "What's Your Story?" project, young people from Endeavour High School explored the campaign for the Abolition of the transatlantic slave trade at Wilberforce House and also visited exhibitions at the Ferens Art Gallery.  They then decided to tackle a very real issue for their community and city - community cohesion.  They decided to take a very personal approach and used their own experiences to explore Hull's diverse community through film and photography.  They made a series of films and photographs about what it's like being a young person living in Hull today. 

Some pupils' quotes about living in Hull included the following:

"Because I haven't got any real special place in Hull I chose the mosque because it's a holy place and it brings me close to my past and my culture.  I feel that the mosque is my real home.  When I go there I imagine that I am close to my parents."

"My house is my special place. I've lived there all my life. I can remember larkin' out with my mates and going to the park. It feels safe in my house and I have great memories."

During March and April 2008 the pupils from Endeavour High School produced an exhibition as part of their involvement in the Campaign! Make an Impact project - developed in partnership with Hull Museum Education Service, Cafesociety.org, the British Library and the Thackray Medical Museum.

Jane Avison, Senior Education Officer at Hull Museum Education said:

"The young people created the exhibition as part of their campaign against racism and intolerance. First they made short films about their own lives and then came to the museum to investigate the slavery collections and issues around racism. They developed a greater understanding of each other and wanted to run a campaign to promote tolerance between different cultures."

The project helped to break down barriers between communities, dispel some myths and promote understanding of different cultures. Jane continued:

"The young people have been very courageous in putting themselves forward as the face of the campaign, giving us an insight into their lives. They would like the viewer to stop and think before making judgements, to consider the person and their story, not just nationality."

For further information about Campaign! Make an Impact please select the following websites:
* www.bl.uk/campaign
* www.mylearning.org/campaign

Additional information about this project is also available from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) report, "Inspiration, Identity, Learning: The Value of Museums." Page 25 and throughout.
http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/Thevalueofmuseumspt1.pdf.