Resource Spotlight: Empowering Voices
Since 2015, the Lincoln Diocesan Board of Education has worked with Shooting Fish Theatre Company, cultural solutions UK and Taylormade Arts to support children and young people to engage with a range of religions and beliefs through the arts. The most recent piece of work is the Empowering Voices project, which builds on previous work carried out in our region to facilitate courageous and creative conversations about religion and belief.
The purpose of the project was to produce eight podcast episodes, each of which serves as an introduction to key religious and non-religious worldviews through the lens of lived experience. Year 6 and Year 7 pupils from across England and Wales worked alongside creative professionals to produce the podcast episodes, each of which included a short audio play, an ‘in conversation’ discussing the themes of the play and an immersive soundscape relating to the worldview in focus. Each episode also includes a bespoke education pack, aimed at 9-11 year olds and 11-13 year olds.
The most recent of these is ‘Exploring a Buddhist Worldview’ and was created in Cardiff. Like those created for other religious and non-religious worldviews this has;
- An original audio play informed and co-written by pupils, the wider community and a writer.
- Recorded conversations between pupils, community members, educational professionals and worldview practitioners.
- An immersive soundscape that connects with the narratives and discussion.
The accompanying education pack outlines how the resources could be used over 6 sessions. The sessions explore what is a worldview, the story of Siddhartha Gautauma, an exploration into global Buddhist worldviews and then Buddhist Worldviews in Wales/UK, a consideration of the importance of the importance of the Eightfold path and a consideration of understanding of Buddhist worldviews and the pupils own worldviews.
Access to these materials is freely available here