Costume Pair
[uncredited]
Lincolnshire County Council's Heritage and Library services worked in partnership to create a project that would enable children living in rural areas throughout the county to learn about cultural diversity in an accessible and enjoyable way, through the delivery of participatory workshops in schools.
A significant proportion of the county consists of rural areas that are historically predominantly white-British, and have been identified as areas suffering from rural isolation and social and economic deprivation. The demographics of these areas are changing as migrant workers from Portugal, Eastern Europe and Africa come to settle in Lincolnshire.
Through CulturED, children can gain a greater understanding of why people move from one country to another, and begin to question and experience different cultures and traditions, whilst helping to promote tolerance and cultural awareness in their local communities.
‘I tried on a sari. It was very colourful and beautiful and I liked how it felt, it was very soft and shiny. Saris are worn in India.’
Costume Pair
[uncredited]
Lincolnshire Heritage Services were initially invited to help a local school celebrate Portuguese Day – this was very successful and there was plenty of enthusiasm to repeat the project in other schools.
Building on this successful pilot, a series of cultural diversity workshops were developed and offered to schools throughout Lincolnshire from Summer 2005. The workshops are free and the response has been overwhelming.
As an outreach service, CulturED can reach schools that have not accessed services before, particularly those in rural areas.
CulturED Case Study