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A new series of events looking at critical issues affecting young people today. This event will explore the topic of Class and Education.

This is the last in the current series of events looking at critical issues affecting young people today.

We will be asking the questions What is social class and does it still exist? Is there a class divide across the education system and what is its impact? How can barriers of class be overcome to help young people gain more equal opportunities?

Our debate opens with a special spoken word performance from Maz Shar titled ‘Youth Misunderstood’, which was also featured in Young Arnolfini’s debut YA zine.

Helen Davies Curator of Learning and Participation at Arnolfini will be Chairing the event. Helen is a dedicated arts professional with 10 years experience working across multi-disciplined cultural organisations, historic and contemporary collections. Prior to that she has worked for 9 years in formal education.

Speakers include Sam Thomson,  UWE Faculty of Arts, and young people John Gibby and Adibah Iqbal. Sam Thomson is an Artist, Teacher and Researcher. She is currently Director of Civic and Cultural Engagement in ACE Faculty at UWE, Bristol and leads the Skills and Employment strand of work for Bristol Cultural Education Partnership. She has 15+ years experience of working in formal education, as well as extensive experience of work with community-based and informal learning providers.

John Gibby, the re-elected member and voted Chairperson of Bristol Youth Select Committee (Bristol’s Youth Council), has worked on a variety of education-based issues, including how sex and relationships education is taught in Bristol’s state schools as well as other issues regarding the fate of Bristol’s youth centres in the current economic situation.

Using media and the arts to highlight topical issues affecting her community, Adibah Iqbal, 20, is a young film maker who is actively involved in the Bristol voluntary sector. She believes that minority voices are not always represented fairly in mainstream media and that the best way to tackle this is to create your own media.

Inspired by Bristol Festival of Ideas, Young Arnolfini and Salaam Shalom Youth Council have teamed up to curate a unique platform allowing young people to share ideologies and philosophies with a panel of high profile speakers.

After the success of our last two debates on ‘Pornography and the Public’ and ‘the Power of Social Media’, make sure to reserve your ticket now.

The event is FREE but donations are welcome.

Bring along yourself, a mate, and your opinions.

Please call box office on 0117 9172300 to book.