A Glimpse at Campaigning

I arranged a meeting with Trevelyan so he could start me off along the research path of careers, finance and funding. It's an area that scares me a little bit because I know that there is so much I need to know about these aspects and I don't want to completely confuse myself and understand less after research than I did before it!

I was scheduled for an hour with Trevelyan before his next meeting on the other side of campus. Due to the awfu parking situation on College Road, he was delayed by half an hour, which meant we had to cut our discussion short. I would have liked more of a structure to our meeting, but as we had to squeeze everything in, information just flew around in no particular order. This isn't the way I like to do things as I need organisation and coherence. 

Organisation of events requires strict time keeping and a steady flow of clear communication. It is essential to the successful running and outcome of projects. A great deal of meetings need to be arranged and attended in order to keep a maintainable target within reach. Regular discussions ensure everything is on track and developing smoothly. Issues can then be brought up with plenty of time to resolve them or change direction slightly to accommodate.

At the end of our meeting, I did want to move on to the subject of the Fringe Festival and get a few updates on the progress. This wasn't possible with the time limitations we had, so another chat will be needed in the near future, or a series of emails to answer a few queries I have on the overall plan of the Family Day.

There are two types of events that raise money for charitable organisations; events that raise the money directly, and events to reach beneficiaries (programmes, workshops, activities).

Large organisations participate in a lot of campaigning to raise their profile and get noticed. They direct a lot of this at generating events in aid of trying to affect the government policies. The media then becomes involved and gets society on side of the charity. There isn't much publicity better than being all over the media supporting a good cause. Barnardo's is a prime example of an organisation who use campaigns to send their message to the public. Some of their adverts are so shocking, the media can't help but comment and discussions are sparked. This is what the charity want; it increases their audience. 

An article I came across on the BBC website talks about advertising campaigns used to attract attention and raise awareness. It goes on to discuss the shock tactics used to do this. Keeping in with the example of Barnardo's, they use 'disturbing' images to inform people of causes normally ignorant to society. Some of the images have been blocked by the Advertising agency for being too shocking for public viewing; such as the image below:

Smack on the bottom: An image from the banned Barnardo's campaign

The question I ask is, are these tactics working in today's society or a people becoming accepting of the imagery released by charities because they now their strategy. Would the images bring more of a shock factor if it wasn't a charitable campaign displaying them?

Barnardo's 'Silver Spoon' was another one of their campaigns that became banned by the authorities after they deemed it to disturbing and shocking to be broadcast. Members of the charity has tried to argue that it is the issue of child poverty which is the shocking aspect and the images are simply bringing to to attention. The photographs meant to spark a reaction and show just how serious a problem there is. 

In the Guardian, representatives from the charity speak about their controversial campaigns and how they are carefully created and appropriate for showing people what is happening right under their noses.

"We are disappointed the process has failed us, and that the ASA has not accepted that the issue of child poverty warrants hard hitting images. We maintain it is the subject matter, not the images, that is shocking - but we have no choice but to respect the ASA's decision"

The article titled 'Banned - But we'd do it again' explains that people often wonder why the charity create images instead of using real life situations.

Above are the 4 images that sparked the complaints and resulted in the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banning the charity from showcasing them. The issued a warning also, informing Barnardo's not to produce imagery like this again. The magazine 'Campaign' voted the adverts as the 6th most effective of 2003, which showed that Barnardo's had made the right decision to use them. Campaign comments that advertising campaigns need to be thought-provoking and Barnardo's definitely delivered.

"Any campaign tackling child poverty needs to be thought-provoking and BBH came up with the goods for Barnardo's."

Another question that can be asked is, are the public getting agitated and complaining because they don't want to be made aware of the issues and would rather stay in the dark? Pleading ignorant is the best way to remain in your own little life bubble and not have a conscious about the suffering of anybody else. If you don't see it, it isn't happening. It isn't affecting you directly, so why should it be brought to your attention and made to make you feel guilty about living a life rich with potential.

You should be shocked! It is a very important issue being raised and one that needs the support of communities to ensure that help is provided for children to give them a chance in life. I look at these images and I get stunned by the power they generate. I don't believe there could be a better way of raising awareness than these photographs. Emotions should be provoked and anger should be showing through. That is the point.

The government have made a commitment to end child poverty by 2020. A spokeswoman for Barnardo's voices her concern about this whilst talking to BBC Radio 5 Live, stating that there is still a struggle ahead, and it is being slowed down by not allowing the charity to show the seriousness of the issue.

"So far about half a million children have been taken out of poverty. But we're concerned there's a long way to go" - Neera Sharma

Charities can't seem to win. On the one hand, they should be 'touchy feely folk' who make it all better. On the other, they should be campaigning organisations that 'provide a voice for the most vulnerable and force action'.

Where is the acceptable balance for the public to be satisfied whilst the campaign circulates in to a success?

Banning the campaign only made it more successful, as a mass debate was sparked and more people tuned in on the discussion, which alerted society to the issues of child poverty and successfully made people aware that it exists in the UK. Job done! With the unintentional help of the ASA. Speaking to the Guardian, Barnardo's director of communication, Diana Green comments:

"We are pleased we have created a debate about child poverty. People are now more aware that child poverty exists in the UK and are aware it is the biggest threat to childhood. We are pleased we have received many calls to our offices in support of the campaign. We are pleased visits to our website more than doubled in the period of the campaign. We are pleased the numbers of donations received through our website are six times higher than usual. We are also pleased by the support of MPs, with an early day motion raised on our behalf in the House of Commons on the issue."

The campaign raised the charities profile a tremendous amount and gave them the opportunity to watch their number of supporters increase. The result of this is more funding coming in allowing them to organise more events and campaigns raising awareness. Even though the charity deny the use of shock tactics, stating that the campaign is them being 'responsible and legitimate', it was a huge success and one that Barnardos seems to rely on in many of their campaigns. But does the campaign have to use this strategy to make people aware? They aren't the only organisation that use these tactics, 'Stop the Traffik' use hard-hitting images to get their message across, but in a more subtle way.

http://www.utalkmarketing.com/Pages/CreativeShowcase.aspx?ArticleID=1692&Filter=0&Keywords=&Order=&Page=15&Title=Stop_the_Traffik_'Baby'_ad

http://jmfinalproject.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/current-campaign-stop-the-traffik/stop_the_traffik_poster_1_by_tirionelf/

Even though Childreach International don't have any active campaigns personally, they  have recognition by a number of campaigns including UN Millenium. In regards to all their advertising imagery, they never use any imagery that shows suffering or poverty, only the success and joy at how lives are being improved. In my personal opinion, I would much rather see the image below that makes me feel good, especially if I have contributed to the charity because you can feel a part of making that child smile and many others in his situation.

http://www.childreachindia.org/

Water Missions International is an organisation that use imagery portraying hope and appreciation of support. Crystal clear water of the purest kind is seen flowing from pipes with children crowding round it like they are worshipping something of incredibly sacred. Water is something that we take for granted and don't give much thought to, so when you view these images, you see how important it is to the less-advantaged, and how much of a difference to their lives it makes; something as simple and trivial to us, saves the lives of others. I believe that there should be more of this campaigning as it shows a long-term development and promise, whereas shocking images like the Barnardos 'Silver Spoon', hit you hard in the short-term from the shock of the imagery, but you're not seeing the chances and prospects these children could have. Personally, I want to see how I will be supporting and how children are getting the 'chance to unlock their potential'. If a child looks content, then I'm more willing to volunteer or contribute to their cause.

http://www.watermissions.org/

Whilst researching this topic of charity campaigns, I have taken an interest in the debates and discussions surrounding them. It has raised many questions in my head about what direction I want to go in. I am considering whether creating a campaign and showcasing it with an opening event is the path I would like to go down. Or stick to being a direct fundraiser of a charity. At the moment after my research, I am swaying more towards the campaigning, as I feel I could grow and develop a lot more within this sector and it would be closer to my heart. I can then focus on the issue and create stimulating ideas from the issue to raise awareness of the issue. Giving children a voice is what I want to achieve, and campaigning for this would be a lifelong mission and a extremely fulfilling achievement as I see progress emerging. Shock tactics wouldn't be one of my strategies, the approach of hope and happiness is what I believe should be advertised.

Which one would you rather see? A shock to the system or the promise of better things to come?

Water Mission International

Barnardos

Sophie Heath

I have been reading the news updates on the Staffordshire University website and come across a article about a student who has secure herself a role at the London 2012 Olympics. It is titled, "Olympic role delight for Staffordshire University".

Sophie Heath is a 20 year old Staffordshire University student currently studying a BA Events Management. This was the detail that attracted my attention and made me want to read on. I became a little jealous that she has the opportunity to gain an amazing amount of extremely valuable experience, which will definitely benefit her in the years to follow, but I then discovered that she has a passion for organising events for charity. "We pulled people together to put on a battle of the bands event.... I have continued to put on events for charity ever since". This made her even more appealing to me because I instantly begun to think of Sophie as a potential contact for some rich quantitative data. Charity events is a topic that could really help me generate some great research links.

I have contacted Sophie with a request to informally chat with her, student to student, about what it is that she does and her opinions on how to organise successful charitable events. She may even be able to give me some advice on how to make a career from it, as I am finding it a struggle to see how I can earn a living this way. 

The email I sent was over Facebook because I couldn't find an email address for her anywhere on the university website. I sent it very informally as a friendly chat approach in the hope that we can grab a drink and have a relaxing, no pressure conversation. This is the way I like to operate. If she wasn't a student and somebody that I didn't recognise, I would have made my message much more formal.

"Hi Sophie


I assume you are the girl from the article on the Staffs Uni website? If so, Yay! :)

I'm doing a MA at the moment and it's all to do with organising events within the charity sector. You may be able to help me a great deal in my research as you organise events for charity and are going to be part of the Olympics! Which is a great achievement by the way! Congratulations!

Would it be possible to meet up and have a chat? Or email you over some questions for you to possibly answer?

I look forward to hearing from you! :)


Emily x"

I just have to wait for a response now and hope that, A) I have the right Sophie and, B) She is willing to talk to me. 

My Fundraising

It only seems appropriate that I use my expedition to India, to generate ideas on how charities collect funds for their organisation.

Childreach International have a brilliant strategy of gathering funds to help their operations. They get volunteers to carry out personal fundraisers!! Which is exactly what I am a part of. The charity have a wide selection of different challenges that you can participate in depending on what your interests are:

Challenge Events

As it can probably be seen quite clearly, the events are aimed at the younger audiences or the more physically able. In today's world, being active and healthy is a massive part of society, so generating activities that involve these aspects are going to get people interested. You are able to get great enjoyment out of physical activity, whilst raising money for charity. What's not to like! This is one of the reasons I signed up to 'India on 2 Wheels'. I get to challenge myself physically as I am a huge health fanatic, whilst fulfilling my life ambitions of changing the lives of people less fortunate than myself. The added bonuses are, being involved in an extremely interesting culture, and seeing sights that one can only dream of. By there being more than one advantage, the charity has you hooked. As I have mentioned many times before, the money side is only the by-product. The once-in-a-lifetime experience is the main advertisement and the reason people get involved. It is a great strategy to get people joining your cause.

Once you have chosen which challenge you want to partake it, the excitement starts to build and you really look forward to the journey you are about to go on. It's not just about the trip, you have a whole year of fundraising to keep you busy. This is one of the most stimulating parts of the whole experience. The expedition is your goal, and in order to get there, you have to complete a series of tasks successfully; the fundraising. Individuals really enjoy this part of the process because it is a great sense of achievement when you get to the end and the trip has been made possible. You sit back and feel really proud of yourself for sticking at it and using all the motivation and passion you have to get to where you wanted to be.

I have come to realise that the more original your fundraising idea is, the more likely you are to receive donations and support from people. On an individual basis, fundraisers are always putting on pub quizzes, cake sales, bucket shaking along the high street, car-boot sales and so on. These activities bring in small donations but they are something that occur on a frequent basis and the novelty quickly wears off. The public stop becoming interested. You need to grab their attention again by doing something they haven't seen before and make them want to get involved. As I keep saying over and over again. The public want to enjoy themselves and feel the benefit themselves. If you can offer pleasure through your activity then you'll grab attention and get people donating. This applies to charities as a whole too. They need to be coming up with new strategies to keep their audience interested and the funds flowing.

I have spent many hours researching and developing other people's idea related to effective fundraising. I have wanted to organise many different activities and events to help me reach my target of £2,500. The one problem I have come across though personally is the lack of time I have to arrange these. I have been juggling fundraising, university, organising the India trip, family life and work. There isn't much time in between these to spend hours putting together successful big events. This is why everything I have done has been on a relatively small scale. It is a shame because the ambition and drive has been there; but the lack of time has stopped me.

My fundraising has consisted of:

- Explaining to all my friends and family what I am aiming to achieve and what Childreach International are supporting, then asking for donations.

- Cake Sales around university and private requests.

- A rugby/netball match where spectators and players were asked for small donations.

- Car-boot sale.

- 'Guess how many sweets are in the jar'

- Donation from my secondary school after agreeing to create an assembly when I have completed the challenge.

- Bucket shaking in Shrewsbury Town Centre and the Cotswold.

- Bucket shaking outside Supermarkets.

- Family Activity Day (cakes, face painting, bouncy castle, climbing wall, tombola etc).

- Photoshoot

- Radio promotion.

- Facebook.

- Twitter.

- Staffs Live (Journalism student conducted an interview with me for the university website). 

- NETWORKING! Talk to people who know people! Word gets around!

Car-Boot!

Shrewsbury Bucket Shaking!

Bake Sale Outside Ember Lounge

These ideas are far from original and haven't allowed me to use my imagination and use my creativity to the best of its ability. As I am from a creative background, I wanted to use this to my advantage and base a lot of my fundraising around it. This would have given a different angle on the activities and made them interactive for others to become involved in. My photoshoot was probably the closest I got to this and it was a great success with people wanting me to do another one so they could get others to come along too. With an event such as this, I am producing something for people to keep and in the process, they are able to enjoy themselves by having their pictures taken. I am making them feel good about themselves. The fact that their money is going towards a great cause probably doesn't even cross their minds very often. The more interactive an activity is, the more of an audience it attracts.

Events related to a particular time of year are generally a success because people enjoy getting in the spirit of certain occasions. Take Christmas for example, an organisation called Star Bikers Motorcycle Club hold an annual 'Toy Run' through Stoke-on-Trent, which sees bikers from all over the country and even abroad, take part in a bike run from one point of Stoke to another. At the end of this, a fundraising event is held where there are lots of activities to get involved in, including face-painting, trade stalls, displays, bike competitions and so on. The toys donated are then collected and delivered to a range of charities and organisations that support underprivileged children. All the money raised from the event also gets split and donated to a variety of causes. It isn't just aimed at bikers either because anybody can donate toys and attend the fundraising event at the end. This opens up the target audience on a wider spectrum and allows the public with an interest to come along and support the cause too. Or just invites them to come and look at all the bikes! Even though they aren't there for the fundraising, they will still be donating unconsciously to get enjoyment. There's that word again, it comes down to it every time!

©Unknown - Toy Run

People really enjoy getting involved and having a great day. They get in the festive spirit, and happy people tend to be generous people! This organisation also do a 'Egg Run' at Easter too, which is based around the same principles of donating eggs and money to a selection of carefully chosen charities (mostly local). Even though these events are bringing in money, they cost a lot to make happen in the first place, so additional fundraising has to be done prior to the event in order for it to go ahead. "Income is derived from a variety of sources such as raffles, admission fees, merchandising profits, fund raising parties and donations." (Star Bikers). When running an event like this, you have to think of the amount it costs to hire out the hall for the fundraising event at the end, promotional/marketing costs, road closure costs etc. Funds for all of these points need to be in place before the event can be a success. You have to ensure that the activity is going to generate enough from fundraising to cover the costs and to make a profit for the charities. Using volunteers instead of paid staff keeps the costs down a tremendous amount too. 

Press coverage is beneficial to have and essential for raising a profile to make the public aware of what you are doing so they can get involved. The more attention you attract, the more your fundraising total increases. 

Another thing that is essential is letting your audience know where their money is going. At the end of the 'Toy Run', cheques are presented on stage to give evidence of the money and the public can see it being handed over personally. This is reassurance and guarantees that you will keep your supporters because they trust you.

Going back to my fundraising, so many ideas have been generated which I am keeping a diary off ready for when I begin to organise my event. I want a bank of possible activities and exhibitions within my event that are interactive and stimulating, to get my audience interested and want to get involved. The more they enjoy it, the more they promote you to others and the larger your group of supporters grows. As well as things to do on the actual event day, I want to have organised smaller fundraising events in preparation, such as creating books, calendars, photographs and art pieces to use within the main event. This will involve a group of people creating products, who will then come along to the event if possible, and bring friends and relatives. So that widens my audience further and gets more people attending and being made aware my brand and what I am trying to achieve.

Creating a donation page and submitting it to every networking site you are a member of is a very effective way of promoting yourself and alerting people to what is happening. I have a fundraiser page through BT MyDonate, but the most popular one is Just Giving, which is beneficial to donors, fundraisers and charities. It can be used as a site to gather donations and money collecting ideas if you are a fundraiser, a way to promote yourself if you are a charity, and a search tool if you are looking to give to a cause.

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/lemsipchapman

MyDonate Page

So far, just by marketing myself to a small audience and organising a few mini activities, I have managed to raise £2000. I've still got a short way to go yet, but it is evidence that hard work and the successful organisation of events really does work in fundraising. 

Organising events on a larger scale that are original and creative, as well as marketing effectively can be an huge success and very beneficial to charitable organisations! With the right target audiences, the charities name will be propelled and become a familiar face, therefore enticing people to donate or get involved. 

I still believe that volunteer fundraisers organising events on a personal level and donating the money to the charity in a lump sum after the event is a great strategy and one that charities are going to keep relying on for many many years. It will keep on adding to the continuous flow of income and stay as an important part of the charitable process.

Target Audiences

There are so many questions that I could ask Mark. We would be talking for hours. This is where I have to be careful because I need to keep them relevant and specific. The experienced background that Mark comes from is incredible. He has achieved so much and this is very inspirational. Before gathering a set of questions, I did some research in to Mark’s history so I don’t ask him questions that I should know the answer to and to make sure I can collect as much qualitative information as possible.

Before I start anything, I need to ask myself a question first; what is it that I want to know? This is very important because it keeps me focused and gives me a direction for what I will be asking.

I have only been allocated a half hour slot today for a quick catch up on the Fringe Festival; so I won’t be able to direct any questions towards Mark. They will all be concentrated towards the festival. I have a list of aims that I would like to have accomplished by the end of the meeting though, which will help me move forward in the planning and involvement of Fringe. The questions that will help develop my module will be mentioned and another date will be arranged to have a lengthier chat. Everything I would like to know will be emailed to Mark before our interview, so he has an idea on what I would like to know and can prepare if he requires. This makes the interview flow a lot better and allows me to pull out only the relevant information. We will be able to have more of a conversation, rather than a question and answer session.

Today’s aims:

-       How can tutorials with Mark benefit me

-       What I am aiming to achieve from this module

-       Discussion related to target audience

-       Date confirmation for another meeting

After the tutorial -  

As usual, I have left a meeting feeling overwhelmed with the sheer amount of work I have to do and a bit worried about the lack of time I have to do it all in. No matter how much I seem to sit down and work, nothing of use is being produced.

All of my aims were completed, so a successful meeting nonetheless. My next arranged tutorial is Monday 30^th April. I have agreed to send an email with all my questions in to Mark so he can have a look through, and we can use them as our base of the next tutorial.

As target audiences are a topic I haven’t got much of an idea about, I thought it would be a good idea to bring it up in discussion in order to help me define whom I should be directing my energy at.

Who are the charities target audience? There is always more than one audience, which is targeted through a charity. Each audience is enticed into different aspects of the organisation through a variety of different ways. I need to have a think about which audience is most relevant to me. Looking at Childreach International, I have found 3 targets; potential donators, communities the charity are involved with and the volunteers/challenge takers.

Potential donators and volunteers/challenge takers are target audiences based in Europe, closer to home. Whereas the communities involved with the charity are the more distant target. They are the ones that benefit, rather than support. For this module, the communities aren’t the audience I will be focusing on because they are already in place and I will be using them as a tool to attract audiences closer to home. It is potential donators who I will be focusing on. Fundraising for charity through events is my target and the raising awareness of the cause. Therefore, I need to grab the attention of the public and people who are interested in the cause. If I get a selection of people who aren’t contributing financially, but want to get involved, that is great too because they will be participating and helping to raise funds in alternative ways. This is how I initially got involved and signed up to cycle across India. I fundraise independently and add to a target fund, which gets split into two separate funds; money donated to the charity and money to fund the once-in-a-lifetime challenge. By doing it this way, I am able to support the charity and help them make a difference, whilst doing something to develop me as a person physically and mentally, but without the need to donate a large sum of my own money. I believe this is a great strategy to gain supporters and have a steady income of funds. In this case, the money is a by-product of the challenge, the self-fulfillment and enjoyment of completing an activity that you wouldn’t be able to do on an everyday basis. Individuals are much more likely to be a part of your team if you are creating opportunities for them to gain something on a personal level. Unfortunately in today’s world, there aren’t many people who give something for nothing. But then again, if you were presented with the chance to cycle across India, Climb Everest, and Walk the Great Wall of China, why would you pass up the chance!?

http://www.childreach.org.uk/get-involved/challenge-events

In conclusion to this meeting I have now defined who my target audience are: the public who want to attend events and activities for pleasure with fundraising as a by-product, and donators who want to be made aware of the cause at hand and contribute financially in to supporting the charity's development in successfully helping and achieving their objectives. As I want to ultimately put on an event, which will include a series of exhibitions and activities, i will be covering both target audiences because the pleasure and enjoyment seekers will attend for the activities and the financial donators will be more interested in the messages and power flowing from the exhibitions.

Birmingham IKON Gallery

The IKON Gallery is just as I remember it. I enjoyed going back there again and must make more of an effort to visit the exhibitions they show. 

My main aim of the visit was to pick up some of their family activity sheets (which I did), but I couldn't leave without having a browse first. I find contemporary Art fascinating sometimes, but I am not going to start talking about that now. The exhibitions currently on are well worth a look at. One of the Artists, Hamish Fulton is very interesting and I will definitely find out more about him and his work. I consider myself to be a walker and an outdoor soul, so his pieces caught my eye instantly. Fulton considers himself to be a 'walking artist' stating that ‘If I do not walk, I cannot make a work of art’.

Installation, IKON 2012

The exhibition is on until 22nd April 2012.

At the entrance to the gallery, there is a programme which has events advertised, covering February to April. I am considering a small leaflet or booklet or my event. It will provide information on what the event is about, the charity I am supporting and what each task/activity/exhibition within the event consists of. The document can be free, but a suggested donation box will be placed strategically.

Free Programme upon arrival (Optional)

As well as the programme, there were exhibition guides tailored specifically for what is currently on display. It provides a more detailed description of what the pieces are about and the Artists behind them. There isn't any need for me to have two documents because everything can fit in to one, as my material remains constant, unlike a gallery with ever changing pieces.

Current Exhibitions Programme

In the gallery shop, the Artists have provided their own publications on the art pieces displayed. These were books created containing the content of the exhibition; photographs, quotes, paragraphs of writing. As I will have an exhibition within my event, a book is something I have been considering. A hardback book that contains all the photographs and pieces collected from India, as well as quotes from various different people and a brief background on what I have done and the charity. As this isn't a fully formed idea just yet, I haven't thought about prices. 

Before I get to the family guide, a idea I never thought about before is a short evaluation form for all visitors to fill out upon leaving the event. This is generate valuable information to help me assess the success of my events and area of improvement. You can't get any better than the personal opinions of the people taking part of the experience. By knowing what worked well and what didn't, I can develop my ideas for next time and produce a more successful event. Questions such as: Which areas of the event did you take part in/visit today? How would you rate your overall experience? Service of volunteers? How did you find out about the event? What made you want to visit? 

And then some more personal questions to gather information for target audience evaluating: Sex? Age? UK? (Postcode) Outside UK? (Country) Disability? Education? Employed? Ethnicity? 

Finally, Any further comments?

If all of the questions on the evaluation form were multiple choice, people are more likely to complete one and I won't have to sift through sheet after sheet of irrelevant information. 

Front & Back of IKON Gallery's Survey

At first, I couldn't understand why information about the individual was important, but now I realise that it is vital to get statistics on your audience and know who they are. When filling out the form, they need to know how the information will be used and that it will remain confidential. They are more likely to fill it out if a small statement is visible stating this. "The information you supply is strictly confidential. Your answers will help us understand our audience and the information provided will only be used for research purposes."

It would be silly if I didn't take advantage of gaining information from my attendees. 

The family guide for this particular exhibition is an A3 folded sheet with a selection of activities on. The one thing that I did notice is that there wasn't any pencils/pens near the activity sheets, but it does say on the back that there is a resource room where they can be found. I assume this is so the Art pieces are kept safe and the children stay separate when armed with crayons. My event will have a corner for children to be creative and then stick their 'masterpieces' on the wall if they want to. Or alternatively, take them home. If I can, my crayons/pencils will have a mixture of the university logo on them and the Childreach International logo. This gives visitors a freebie to take away with them, which I know everybody loves, and I will be advertising at the same time.

A3 Family Activity Sheet (Side 1)

As you can see from the image above, one of the activities the IKON Gallery have created for this specific exhibition is a 'design your own t-shirt'. The words underneath the shirt outline say: "Artist Sarah Browne asked people in Iceland about their lives (A Model Society) and knitted jumpers for them to wear. The patterns of the jumpers included their thoughts about where they lived. Design your own jumper in the space above with a message about where you live." An activity like this, really gets the imagination running and many thoughts are produced. It is an enjoyable activity, whilst allowing children to voice their opinion through art. It is a brilliant idea and one I will be developing in my own way to include something similar on future activity sheets I create. The activity may be a way of children expressing something they have never voiced before. Children being able to speak freely about how they feel is an area I have great passion in, and if they are able to speak out using Art and their creativity, then even better!

A3 Family Activity Sheet (Side 2)

Trevelyan and Mark both suggested a family guide for the Fringe festival to keep it interactive and interesting for families, hence my trip to gather research at the gallery. It has been an inspiration and I am now able to go away and generate different idea for activities. These will not be stuck in cement until I have more knowledge on the Art piece being displayed in the Degree Show. I am to focus on children's feelings, opinions and creativity as much as possible. At the end of the trail, the sheets could be scanned before being handed back to the families, and then showcased through the Fringe Show Blog/Facebook/Twitter.

'Children's Lives' Exhibition

It was more like visiting a museum, than a temporary exhibition. I find it a great shame that it isn't going to be a permanent fixture, but I hope many more people get to enjoy the vast information and viewing. 

'Letting childhood through the ages speak for itself'

The exhibition was a lot larger than I expected it to be, so an hour dedicated to looking around turned in to half the day browsing all the sections. Although there wasn't much relevance to my project, it didn't stop me from looking at every image/painting and reading every sign. I came away with some very interesting ideas and views on topics I barely knew anything about.

Anybody interested in childhood and upbringing should definitely visit! It is open until the 10th June at Gas Hall, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Leaflet Advertising the Exhibition (Front)

The image that can be seen above is what the promotional leaflets look like. They have been distributed around to attract the public's attention. The photograph on the front instantly shows a picture of innocence. You are drawn in and want to know the little girl's story, the title 'Children's Lives' fits in well because it frames the doorway and is a colour that compliments the image tonality. When you are handing out leaflets which you want people to read, they need to jump out and get noticed; only completely relevant information, an eye-catching image and a size that can be transported easily.

On the back of this leaflet there is a bit more detail about what you will be introduced to walking around the exhibition, as well as contact information and who the project has been supported by. The extra bit of added information is possibly there as a little added push encase you can't decide to visit or not. Listing a couple of Artist's name in the short description is a good idea because you may take an interest in one of them and that may be the reason you go along to the exhibition. The more information you can add to the promotional documents without making it overflow, the better. I have realised that you need to reach out to as many people as possible. Just by looking over this double-sided sheet, I can see that the exhibition will entice interests in the areas of childhood, paintings, artefacts, history, photography, Birmingham to name just a few. The marketing team haven't just focused on an audience who want a history of 'children's lives from the 18th Century to the present day'.

Leaflet (Back)

Once you were inside, after waiting for the extremely slow machine to print the tickets, you had the choice of picking up a booklet designed to go alongside the exhibition. To keep with a consistent and recognisable theme, the same image is used on the front to identify it. People begin to recognise all the products linked with the exhibition if you keep everything consistent. From personal experience I have noticed that you can make a good brand for yourself if everything is recognisable because people will start to associate certain things in one group. This is also a good way to raise profiles and be successful. Especially when it comes to self-promotion material such as a website, letterheads, business cards and so on. 

Front of Exhibition Booklet

As I was making my way around the exhibition and reading all the descriptions in each section, I began to generate questions and find avenues that I never thought to look down related to my current module.

Is 'how children should behave' shaping the way we help them? Are we pushing them in a certain direction; the way we see fit and not what they may necessarily consider as a good life? In the past, children have been shaped by adults and moulded into figures they 'should' be without having a voice of their own. I don't believe this should be the case as all children should be allowed to decide what type of person they want to grow up to be and what direction they want to follow. This is one of the reasons why Childreach International was a chosen path to involve myself with. They work with a organisation in India, which I would love to be a part of, called Shaishav. Within this is a programme (Balsena) that allows children to voice their concern and have their say, instead of adults speaking on their behalf. Even though this programme improves the lives of children, it is still guiding them in a certain direction by giving opportunities which, 'train and create more leaders within the child population... so as to ensure the sustainability of the development process in the region'. It is something that will continue to happen, but the fact that their voices are heard and considered is a great addition to what was once unheard of.

Children need to be asked what makes them happy and what is important to them, not what adults assume the answers are.

©Emily Chapman: 2012
Painted on the exhibition wall surrounded by information on 'What is a child?'

By basing my event around children's experiences and thoughts instead of my own, I believe that I will draw more people in. The event will instantly become more personal and powerful because it will be 'straight from the horses mouth'; their feelings and their images. With all the activities included, I will try to insure that they are influenced by the younger generation as much as possible. When you show a child you are interested in what they have to say, they become more willing to co-operate and work hard because you have a belief in them and are encouraging them to work for success.

I want my exhibition to show; what the Indian children think is positive/negative about their lives and environment, what they hope to achieve in the future and what would they change if they had the chance?

In my feedback forms, I will ask visitors if they are more willing to contribute to the charity knowing that children are being given a voice, and if being shown life through their eyes had made a difference compared to if they were viewing through an adults perception.

In the exhibition booklet at the back, there is a list of related events and talks that might be of interest. On this subject of children being shaped and influenced by adults, the University of Birmingham are holding a small exhibition exploring 'the idea of childhood rites of passage'. I would like to go and visit this because even though it isn't directly linked to my project, I may pull up some useful information or generate an idea that will really add that extra lift to my event. The more information I can get on the subject of childhood, the better chance I have of being able to effectively put on events and give less advantaged children the support they need to live a full and happy life. The exhibition is running till the 29th June, at Staff House in Edgbaston, and is free to view.

Moving away from this topic, I came across an image by Nick Hedges in the exhibition (below), which shows a child left completely vulnerable and has innocence running out of every skin cell. Just by looking at the photograph, you feel sorry for this child and want to make life better for her. You want to know why she is alone. The title 'Child in Basement' adds to the impact of the image also. Knowing the child is in a basement makes you want to rescue them even more as it isn't a pleasant place to be! The fact that you are viewing in black and white generates a greater power as the colour has been taken away to truly show the loneliness and helplessness.

© Nick Hedges: Child in Basement, Liverpool 8, July 1971

At the side of the image, there was a paragraph explaining the reason for the photograph being taken. It only adds to the power and impact already present by commenting on the health of children forced to live in certain spaces. As well as an overwhelming urge to help the child, I felt anger that children are living like this. Which then adds to my drive to help!

Hedge's images surrounding this topic have been used by the charity Shelter to get their message across and to draw in donation contributors. You cannot look at this picture and then turn away without feeling anything at all, can you?

'Children's health was often badly affected by the cold, damp spaces in which they lived. Bronchitis, asthma and influenza were rife. Illness, and lack of sleep caused by overcrowding, meant the children missed school and their education suffered. SHELTER used Hedge's photographs to reveal the impact of poor housing on vulnerable children' - Paragraph next to image in exhibition.



Whilst looking through the section covering the war period, I came across the artist Norman Neason, who had presented us with a fabulous watercolour showing children playing amongst the rubble of a house that had been blown up by the bombing; 'Bombsite in Birmingham: 1942'. The children are content and having a great time using their imaginations. Everything these children once knew, suddenly gets taken from them, but they make the most of their situation and keep going.  Even though you see these children happy, you can't help but feel sympathy for them and think of the dangers surrounding them. What would the image/painting look like if created through the children's eyes? I have searched for the image, but haven't had any success in finding it unfortunately. I wish I had taken a photograph of it in the exhibition when I had the chance.


The act of play instantly improves a child's quality of live and their drive for life. Allowing them to feel freedom and express themselves through their imagination, crams them with positive energy. This then contributes to successful development in to adults. I believe that a happy childhood leads to a more successful and contented adult in more ways than simply career related. German educator Friedrich Froebel believed that play was vital to a child's education as it was stimulating and helped develop self-control and self dependence. 

A lot of disadvantaged children in India don't get the opportunity for freedom such as this because of their duties. They have to start working at an early age to support their families. Charitable organisations encourage families to let their children enter educational, controlled environments, which give them the chance to interact and experience play with others their age. Without the aid of the public, projects like this aren't achievable and a child's opportunity for good life becomes less and less likely. In England until the 1870s, children used to work instead of go to school Education wasn't common. Eventually, 'social reformers' had worries that their were too many physical and moral effects surrounding child workers. Even after the 1870s, the poorest of children worked half-time to earn some extra money. In India, young children working is something that needs to be helped, and many charitable organisations dedicate themselves to better the lives of the younger generations.

© Daniel Valla: Children Playing in Village: Nepal

Reading through the statements within the war section made me think a lot about how target audiences have shifted since the 2nd World War. In this period, men felt like protectors and wanted to do good by women and children. They put themselves forward to ensure their safety. I would have known exactly who to target my event at and who would contribute to ensuring the charitable organisation was able to help where necessary. In today's society, protecting women and children isn't the biggest concern for men as independence has equalled out a great deal.


Overall, I have learnt a lot from this exhibition and it has generated a few ideas that I will take on board and possibly adapted further on in my MA. A few charities have been mentioned also that I didn't think to look at, so I will be researching in to those. At the moment, I am wondering if I need to look in to what it means to be a child? Or if I should just concentrate on the events side of things more predominantly for now. That could be a different project entirely.