Last week, creative professionals gathered at iconic South Yorkshire venue Grimm & Co to learn about the vision and production behind Rotherham’s Children’s Capital of Culture (CCoC). Attendees of the SYCCIN event heard about the CCoCs unique year-long schedule, which begins in 2025 and aims to connect young people with their creativity, and facilitate access to more cultural opportunities for young people throughout the borough.

Grimm & Co’s CEO Dr Deborah Bullivant MBE commenced the evening with a recital of the Grimm brothers fairytale and a tour of the enchanting Children’s Literacy Charity grounds. A venue so focused on empowering children to unlock their creativity could not have been more synonymous with the panel discussion, hosted by Head of Culture at Barnsley Council Jon Finch and welcoming Community Music Manager from Rotherham Music Hub Liam O’shea, Trainee Production Assistant Avumile Sibanda and Programme Manager for Children’s Capital of Culture 2025 Sarah Christie.

A bold, brave and audacious mission

Head of Creative Programming & Engagement at Rotherham Council Leanne Buchan kicked off the discussion with details of how the project has contributed to a larger mission to turbocharge the town’s Cultural Strategy, and how it has become a powerful catalyst for change.

“We [Rotherham] were 10% below the national average in terms of participation, and our goal was to get more people to get out and get creative, more often. We had several game changers that everyone could see themselves in, whether you were an event, a venue, a producer…and it was up to them how they responded. And respond they did!”

Since 2019, Leanne and the team at Rotherham’s Cultural Partnership Board have achieved huge hitting milestones, including the launch of a new Theme Park, commencing the restoration of England’s largest Historic House, hosting the UEFA Women’s Euro and “as one of the key game changers, the CCoC has really become full focus.” said Leanne.

Success in partnerships 

This project is “a world’s first” made by, for and with children and young people, with arts, culture, creativity and community events at its core. The programme covers a broad spectrum of themes, from more traditional artforms like film and poetry, to cultural heritage, sports and nature. Most importantly, it's largely underpinned by creative, imaginative collaborations. 

Sarah set the tone for this with an energetic brain teaser, prompting the crowd to work in pairs to come up with a concept for an event combining their professions, channelling music as the artform, and hosted in a takeaway venue. Not your average brief! As well as centering the conversation in partnerships, the mini workshop illustrated exactly how the CCoC has come to life through sharing ideas. 

With this mindset,  team CCoC have focused on galvanising the local community, working with existing events, organisations and individuals all across South Yorkshire to pack out their 365 day programme and generate interest amongst a wide pool of communities. Sarah said “we want activities taking place all across the borough” as the campaign aims to represent, and join forces with, every town and village. 

A diverse range of events are encompassed within the CCoC schedule, of which Liam detailed a few, including the launch of “a really exciting collaboration with this fabulous location(Grimm & Co), the Capital of Music and the Royal Opera House (ROH)…Rotherham opera is going to be a performance designed, created, and imagined by children of Rotherham.”

They will be working with schools and colleges on the tech and set design, and the ROH are involved in the composition. “This is a really ambitious production involving 1500 performers and covering all 25 wards…the idea is that we really are reflecting the stories that matter to young people.” said Liam.

The power of empowering young voices 

The most important collaboration of all has been working hand-in-hand with Rotherham’s young people, and the CCoC has engaged a young panel from conception to production. “It’s got to be something that involves new voices, and that is co-produced with young voices” said Liam.  Sarah agreed “Developing this with children and young people is a key part of the process.”

Leanne described the value and creative freedom of looking at engagement activity through the lens of childhood. “We were able to take risks, we were able to be playful, and having that single joint focus has given us licence to grow and develop. Our audience has been by our side every step of the way. We haven’t just landed them with a new festival, it actually came from children and young people. They have helped us develop it, they have helped us to shape it.”

Transforming opportunities for young people

This is a truly change-making initiative, which is already having a huge impact. Avumile Sibanda shared how excited she and her peers are for the CCoC to adorn Rotherham’s culture with accessible events and opportunities. “Before, if you didn’t know about organisations like Grimm & Co and Flux, you couldn’t easily get involved in creative activities…My younger siblings are on the youth panel [for CCoC] and are so excited for this to come to Rotherham. It makes me feel proud…it's going in a really positive direction.” 

Avumile also expressed the importance of creative professionals remaining open and supportive when co-producing with young contributors. “Children have strong opinions and it’s about being open to listening….having informal casual chats (and managing their expectations). They will reach for the stars!”

Leanne concluded “To launch a large-scale project focusing on children - in a town that has had a very different story of its young people portrayed in the media - was bold, brave and audacious. Bloody hard! But bold, brave, and audacious.”

Getting involved

With just five weeks to go, there is still time to get involved, as the programme will continue to evolve throughout next year. If you have a new idea for 2025, or an existing creative activity or concept you want to propel forward as part of the CCoC, you can express your interest now on the CCoC website.

The next SYCCIN will take place on  26th February 2025 and more details will be announced soon on Eventbrite.