LEICESTER YOUTH SACRE

At Beaumont Leys City Learning Centre for the final meeting this academic year of the Youth SACRE. Today, members of youth SACRE have been designing and making models for resources that students can use in schools across Leicester: RE resources made by young people for young people. The following activities are also on their agenda today:

• Filming footage to complete their Youth SACRE DVD.
• Planning two seminars for the RE Conference in November 2011.
• Working on a Youth SACRE website.
• Developing posters and flyers advertising the work of the Youth SACRE.
• Planning an event during National Inter Faith Week (20-26 November).

I've been invited by Jill Carr, Secretary to SACRE, to speak to the students about developing their own blog (with reference to social media alrady familiar to them, such as Facebook). I'm given the services of a small group for half-an-hour or so this afternoon (in the photo around the table, above - joined by Jennie Duce, Head of RE and Citizenship at Sir Jonathan North Community College). My assistants in this session (and their lunch choices) are:

• Abdi (prawn mayo sandwich)
• Azim (cheese and tomato sandwich)
• Eeti (cheese and salad sandwich)
• Mariam (cheese and salad sandwich)

• Mohamed (cheese and pickle sandwich)
• Mohammed (cheese and onion sandwich)
• Saaima (cheese and coleslaw sandwich)
• Vinita (chicken burger)

My assistants think that a Youth SACRE blog should be:

• informative
• up-to-date
• attractive (people should want to read it and recommend it to their friends)
• useful
• inspiring
• appropriate

I set our group the task of completing the following statement: "I would like more people to know about Leicester Youth SACRE because ..."

• "... it gives an opportunity for the other young people to talk about their and others' religious views."
• "... it gives young people a chance to have their say in religious aspects which will affect them in future."
• "... because we could make the communities' future better."
• "... because it gives young people a chance to voice their opinions about Religious Education."
• "... because there are lots of things to learn in the Youth SACRE which will help in future. You learn about different religions and beliefs of different people from different backgrounds."
• "... because you can learn more about different religions and to communicate with someone who is a different religion, skin colour and race."
• "... because you can discuss about other religions and cultures involving people to know each other."

I show our team how, within 90 seconds of publishing this very post, it gets its first viewing, the next one following some 30 seconds later. They're quite excited by this and it appears to be enough to convince them that Leicester Youth SACRE should have its own blog! by the time I get to show this to the larger group at the end of the afternoon, the post has had nine viewings from as many as five different countries - a nice illustration, if ever there was one, of just how their work can be amplified!