It’s 200 hundred years since the Peterloo Massacre when 60,000 people including children and young people marched from across Greater Manchester to take part in a peaceful protest to ask for the vote and to be represented in Parliament.
Manchester is marking the date with a programme of activities under the three themes of Freedom of Speech, Democracy and Protest.
Read Manchester has devised a reading and learning resource for 14 to 18-year-olds (Key Stage 4 and 5) to celebrate young people’s involvement in peaceful protest over the last 200 years. The resource has been funded by the British Council and therefore includes case studies from around the world.
The online resource contains 15 themes. Powerful stories of how young people have used protest and collective action to promote their democratic rights. It is a flexible resource that can be used in schools, colleges and other youth settings. It can be used within a specific lesson, year assembly or whole school dropdown days.
All resources are available for download here and you can download a summary of the resource here.
Radical Read Event
Thanks to Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Unison. Radical Read is also working with six groups of young people to look in more depth at the themes presented in the resource pack.
Groups will work with artists, mentors and historians to unpack the resource and explore their understanding of their democratic rights and responsibilities through their chosen art form.
They’ll then perform, present and share their responses at our Radical Read Event on Wednesday 3 July, in front of the back drop of Manchester Art Galleries exhibition, Get Together and Get Things Done.
This event has now passed.