National Lottery Heritage Grants £10,000 to £250,000
Youth ambassadors (aged 16–24) will be trained and supported to record migration stories, carnival traditions and cultural practices. They will work alongside community elders and cultural practitioners as part of the Carnival of Cultures - Many Voices One City project.
The young people will undertake oral history training and then conduct recorded interviews with global majority communities to capture their stories and cultural traditions with care and consent. A digital archive will be developed by the project from the material collected to ensure it is preserved and accessible, and a teaching pack created for schools and local communities.
Exhibitions, films, podcasts, costumes and performances will be co-curated by the youth ambassadors, inspired by the heritage they explore.
They will also design and deliver workshops in schools and youth settings using drumming, dance, costume, spoken word and storytelling, and take part in public showcases connected to Edinburgh Festival Carnival.
Giles Agis, Carnival & Community Manager at Edinburgh Festival Carnival, said: “Carnival of Cultures is about making sure Edinburgh’s living heritage is visible, valued and passed on, not just stored away.
“By training our youth ambassadors as cultural heritage coordinators, we are putting young people at the centre of safeguarding migration stories, community traditions and carnival practices, and then sharing them back through exhibitions, digital storytelling and joyful public celebration."
