Your Town, My Town, Our Town

Your Town, My Town, Our Town is a three-year youth engagement programme in Swaffham, in partnership between Norfolk & Norwich Festival and Breckland District Council. It forms an integral part of a wider High Street regeneration project,  Swaffham – A Historic Market Town, which aims to revive the town’s historic high streets and champion its rich character, culture and heritage assets.  

Recognising that local young people are often disconnected from developments and from the social and cultural infrastructure of Swaffham, Norfolk & Norwich Festival has been commissioned to deliver this programme from 2024 to 2027. Through it, we will support and enable Swaffham’s young people to help shape their towns future through a programme of activities that bring their voice to the fore.   

The project aims to put creativity at the heart of how children and young people experience their town by making a space where they can share experiences; create new ones; showcase their talents; and build skills for their futures, all while fostering a deeper connection to their community. Your Town, My Town, Our Town will create a model of youth engagement that will help bring young people’s ideas to the forefront of conversations and planning. 

Year 1 – Your Town 

The programme launched in the summer of 2024 and involved a series of co-created explorations, discussions, talks, workshops and creative activities with local young people that led to the creation of a film in which they outlined their views of the town and what they hoped for the future. 

The film will be screened to an invited audience of local stakeholders in March 2025, with a public presence in the town also planned. It is intended that the film will help instigate a conversation on how to better integrate young people’s views into future town planning. 

Year 2 – My Town 

With year 2 of the programme fast approaching, the Festival Connect & Create team are working to form an advisory group, the Cultural Connectors, made up of young people, local council, teachers, and organisations with a focus on young people, to assist in developing the programme. We’re excited to share more about Year 2 of the programme in the coming months.  

Artists

Mountain Way Pictures

Location

Swaffham, Norfolk

Participants

7-23 years olds

Partners

Historic England, Breckland District Council, Swaffham Town Council and Swaffham Cultural Consortium

Supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund