Hope 2020 Damilola Taylor Campaign
The New School has joined together with the Rio Ferdinand Foundation for the Hope 2020 campaign, which is inspired by the life of Damilola Taylor who was murdered in South London. Ten year old Damilola Taylor dreamed of being a doctor and shortly before his untimely death on 27th November 2000 he wrote of his hope to change the world. The 20th anniversary campaign is dedicated to hearing from young people about their aspirational stories of ambition and hope for themselves and the future.
The New School is on a mission to change the way that education works by enabling young people to make decisions and choices about their own lives, and in doing so influence the world around them. That journey has now started for 46 students in Norwood, South London. Joining the Hope 2020 campaign will give our young people a platform to voice their thoughts and feelings, about themselves, their identity, and the world as the year of 2020 draws to its close.
Lucy Stephens, our Founder and Co-Headteacher, is thrilled to be part of Hope 2020, “I’ve created The New School here in Norwood, because I believe we can do things differently. Being part of Hope 2020 enables our young people to voice their hopes and aspirations for the future, and to articulate the influence they want to have in the world. Creating our community is one of our major principles. We are always keen to create meaningful partnerships with local businesses and individuals who believe in our vision and want to ensure young people have the opportunity to make choices about their lives, to find their identity and self-belief.”
The class of 9 – 11 year olds (who are around the same age as Damilola Taylor when he was murdered), will create their own videos about their hopes for the future and their place in the world. To see these videos when they are launched on 7th December 2020, The National Day of Hope, please sign up for our newsletter or follow The New School on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn. Donations to support this project and our work at The New School will be gratefully received.
Gary Stannett MBE, CEO of the Rio Ferdinand Foundation said, “Rio Ferdinand Foundation has a commitment to developing our services in the Gipsy Hill and Norwood communities from 2020, following a period of extensive youth outreach work and consultations with a range of stakeholders. We are very pleased to have developed this partnership with the New School despite the challenges of Covid this year. This project that will add the voices and hopes of 11 and 12 year olds to our wider portfolio of youth social action projects under our partnership programme with the Co-Op, Youth Voices, and is an important addition to our Hope2020 activities to remember Damilola Taylor this year. This relationship with the New School also signals the beginning of an ongoing partnership to support young people and the local community for the future.”
Monday 9th of November is the very first day of the project, with planning and filming happening at the school each Monday until 7th of December. Stay tuned to our social media channels for updates on the project and to see what our young people create.
Read more about the classroom culture at The New School.
Donate to our Donate My School crowdfunding campaign to help us extend our creative activities programme.