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 was screened in Swaffham in March 2025 to families and friends of the young people, local government, and project partners to mark the end of Year 1. The film has help instigate conversations on how to better integrate young people’s views into future town planning. You can now watch the film below.

Year 2 – My Town 

Year 2 of the programme is now underway, and the Festival Connect & Create team have formed an advisory group, the Cultural Connectors, made up of local young people, council, teachers, and arts organisations, to assist in developing the programme.

The groups meets bi-monthly and has some exciting news to share in the coming Autumn months. The team are always on the lookout for local young people to join the group! If that sounds like you, you can fill out a quick expression of interest form and the team will get back to you about their next meeting.

In August 2025, the team worked with SOUNDYARD and the Swaffham’s Cultural Consortium to run a workshop on Oral Histories for young people in Swaffham. The workshop helped teach key techniques and technical skills of how to create an impactful interview. The young people then tested their new skills at the local Artisan Fayre, where they interviewed artisans and performers alike about their experiences. These interviews will be stored and made available to the public at Swaffham Museum in Autumn 2025.

Artists

Mountain Way Pictures, SOUNDYARD

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