To mark UK Parliament Week 2022, Savera UK Youth launched the Orange Brick Road video, which aims to educate young people on ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) and harmful practices.
Savera UK Youth members chose to create an educational resource specifically targeted to 11-16 year-olds to help better their understanding of HBA and harmful practices, including forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
Hannah Gloudon, Savera UK Youth Advisory Board (YAB) Vice-Chair, said: “Harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and forced marriage are violations of human rights, and we’re determined to be the generation that ends them.
“Education is a key part of raising awareness of these practices and we believe the more young people aware of their rights, the more likely they are to speak out if these are violated. We’re inviting students and professionals to join us in taking a trip down the ‘Orange Brick Road’ to learn more about harmful practices and how to get support.”
The YAB held a focus group at Childwall Sports and Science Academy to determine what type of resource would resonate with their target audience, and help them understand the issues easily and quickly. Following the focus group they decided to create a video, which could be shared on a variety of social media platforms and in schools.
After inviting other young people to take part in the creation of the video, Savera UK Youth members took part in scriptwriting sessions with Natalie Denny, of Skywriters Ltd, who prompted ideas with creative writing icebreakers and guided members in putting together the film’s script. Savera UK Youth then took part in filmmaking sessions with Andrew ‘AB’ Abrahamson, where they learned about lighting, shooting, sound and presenting. Brand consultancy and design agency Nonconform supported the youth project with the creation of animations and the film was subsequently launched at Liverpool John Moores University on Monday, 14th November 2022 with support of John Moores Students Union.
To accompany the video, Savera UK Youth also created an education pack for teachers and professionals, which includes interactive activities to encourage conversation around HBA and harmful practices and guided discussion points. You can register for a copy of the education pack by clicking here.
This project is kindly funded by the Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner.