As part of our commitment to growing and diversifying the range of people interested and involved in science, the British Science Association (BSA) runs the British Science Festival Community Grants programme.
The aim of the scheme is to empower and support community groups to run their own activities as part of the British Science Festival and enabling new local audiences to engage with science. We are providing grants of up to £1,000 to community groups and organisations in the London Borough of Newham (East London) – where this year’s British Science Festival is taking place – that work directly with audiences who are traditionally underrepresented and not engaged in science activity.
This year, the grants have been awarded to five community groups working with communities based in Newham. Their Festival events will highlight the opportunities to work with groups who are traditionally under-represented in science.
Read more about each community group below:
Together! 2012 CIC is a Disability Arts, Culture and Human Rights organisation, founded by locally based Disabled artists in 2013. Their aim is to create a lasting Paralympic cultural legacy in Newham and beyond, building on the success of the volunteer-led Together! 2012 Festival organised by the UK Disabled People’s Council. Together! 2012 CIC’s project The Sounds of Silence will raise awareness about the ambient noise that exists all around us, and in particular in what we think of as ‘silence’. Participants will be supported to record their own ‘room tones’, learning more about the science of sound and how silence is used within sound engineering. These recordings will be edited together to form one soundscape and then published online, along with dance and poetry in order to increase accessibility.
True Ambassadors is a dynamic and passionate charity that stimulates positive change and community empowerment. Their mission is a commitment to addressing essential social issues, promoting well-being and mental health, initiating peace and conflict resolution and creating lasting impact within their communities. They will be running hands-on workshops, captivating demonstrations, insightful talks, and immersive exhibits, to ignite interest in science and foster a deeper understanding of its relevance in our daily lives.
Newham Wellness ‘Better Together’ supports Newham residents who have experienced some sort of an emergency forcing them to leave their homes. This could be due to flooding, a fire, domestic violence, mental health issues and those in need of essential items in which to survive and live. They will be running a free clothes giveaway for the community with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of sustainability and reducing waste. Members of the community will be invited to attend the event, get some new clothing and learn about the importance of reducing waste and living a more sustainable life.
Art in The Docks CIC is a professional artist led social enterprise committed to making art and culture accessible to people who otherwise feel excluded, reducing barriers to participation and adding to a sense of inclusiveness. Their event will revolve around the connections between creative activity and innovation. Using handmade mark making tools and materials, people will be shown how to create highly original images on various different surfaces. Participants will be taught the science of colour making by making their own paints and inks from raw materials. They will then get to make images using brushes and pens made from found objects. This exercise in ‘something from nothing’ will lead people to reimagine the world around them and the extent of what can be made ‘possible’ if approached in innovative ways. Through hands on involvement, people will gain a basic understanding of the science of art.
The New Black Film Collective is a Black, female-led organisation that has been working in Newham for over a decade. They exist to create and cultivate a vibrant Black ecosystem in the UK screen industries film and TV sector by championing Black-led film production, distribution, exhibition and preserving Black filmmaking and television. They will screen Black Panther or Hidden Figures in Newham with a panel of experts from the world of science. They will also include an exhibition to display scientific discoveries by Black pioneers plus have stalls that can signpost the audience to organisations or educational institutions to follow up their interest in science.
For more information about the work the BSA does to support and engage with community groups, please visit our Community Engagement page or follow BSA Communities on Twitter..
The British Science Festival is taking place between 11 – 15 September 2024 in partnership with the University of East London. Check out the programme of 100+ events here.