Manchester Programme

Day 1 Friday 12th July 

Our Friends from Fanprojekt Babelsberg arrived in Manchester this morning and made there way to the Youth Hostel in Manchester City Centre to a nice meal prepared by us to welcome them on their stay, 

After eating, making friends and getting to know each other we took the group to visit the factory youth zone to showcase to the young people the exciting opportunities young people are able to access in our communities. It had been a long day for the group with travelling and we have a busy day planned for the morning after so an early night is planned for the group

Day 2 Saturday 13th July 

Today we travelled to the City of London to watch a friendly game between AFC Wimbledon and FC United of Manchester, we got to show bits of our capital city to our friends and everyone was impressed with the Sunshine and weather.....we reminded the group this is not the typical weather we are used to in whats usually a very rainy Manchester but agreed we will make the most of it. We tried out our interviewing skills and a podcast will be released on the fcum radio site, we will post a link when its up  :) 

Day 3 Sunday 14th July 

Today we showed our visitors Manchester City Centre and took them to the Museum of Science and Industry, the sun was shining again and lots of events were on as part of Manchester International Festival. The city was really buzzing. In the afternoon we went to the Manchester Town Hall where we had keys to the Leaders Room!!! The room was very serious looking like a conference of world leaders which you see on the TV, each space around the table had a microphone so each person could be heard.

Today we met Kerry from creAteam who we will work with to produce our own podcast to share with you our journey, We played some team building games to build communication skills and to form as a group ready for our week ahead which will include lots of group work and political education as well as lots of fun of course! 

Day 4 Monday 15th July 

We started the day today with a trip to the Peoples History Museum , we spent some time looking at the exhibitions and learning about the fight for freedom and equality in our country. We read about the Suffragette movement and learnt about Emmeline Pankhurst  a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement who helped women win the right to vote. 

We discovered that she was born and raised in Moss Side, Manchester. 

Whilst at the Museum we met Kerry and Tom from creAteam, we began the making of our podcast, working in groups to record different elements. We interviewed staff from the Museum, members of the public and recorded our own introductions, A Soundbite from the podcast will be available later and we will post the link for you to hear. 

In the afternoon we went to the Powerlegue in Ardwick where we played 5 a side activities with coaches from FC United of Manchester.

Day 5 Tuesday 16th July 

Tuesday morning began with a meeting and press conference style interview with General Manager at FC united of Manchester, Andy Walsh, we spent some time in the evening discussing the questions we would like to ask, Andy was a good sport and the interview was a great success. After this we visited a local Fish and Chip shop and sampled some quality fish and chips. 

The afternoon started with a great opportunity to interview Councillor Khan who is the Executive Member for Children's Services at Manchester City Council and ward Councillor for Cheetham where some of the group live. We were invited into the committee room which was very grand and regal looking, the walls displayed pictures of Mayor and Mayoresses.

We interviewed Councillor Khan about young people and democracy and discussed with him local issues young people face. 

In the evening we used our free time to take some rest as we are beginning to get tired after a very busy start to the week 

Day 6 Wednesday 17th July 

Free time, this morning allowed us some time to shop again!! And explore what Manchester has to offer, Such as the Northern Quarter, Market Street, The Ardale Centre, Deansgate, Spinningfield and Exchange Square. It was another glorious day of sunshine and it was great to spend some free time looking at the local sights and meeting local people.

In the afternoon we headed to the nationalfootballmuseum in the city centre where we visited exhibitions which tell the history or football and celebrate what else football as to offer, such as its links to fashion and campaigns against racism and homophobia. There were lots of activities to take part in at the Museum including a penalty shootout in a full size goal taken from Wembley stadium, There was a leader board for the highest score and Charlie got up there in first place with an impressive 2900 points. 

Whilst at the Museum we worked in groups to carry of a Vox Pop interview, where we ask members of the public the same questions collecting a variety of views and quotes.  We have put together a soundbite of our interview for you to listen too.