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Art Credit: Michi Masumi. BA.MA
🌱 Youth Pathways (Medway)
Youth Pathways (Medway) provides creative, cultural heritage, wellbeing and employability opportunities for children and young people aged 4–25.
Through Studio 6B, Blueprint, and Stride, participants can explore culture, develop practical skills, build confidence, gain real-world experience, and prepare for future education, volunteering, employment, and leadership opportunities within their communities.
🛡️ Pathway Manager
The Pathway Manager is Level 3 Safeguarding trained, holds an Enhanced DBS certificate, and brings over 25 years of experience in employability, welfare-to-work, training, learning, life coaching, and community development.
Their professional background includes working as an employability manager, life coach, youth boxing club director, community centre manager, school governor trainer, and exam invigilator, supporting individuals of all ages to develop confidence, skills, and progression opportunities. This extensive experience helps ensure participants receive safe, inclusive, and high-quality support throughout their learning journey.
Youth Programme | Blueprint
Winter 2026 | Spring 2027
📸 BLUEPRINT (Medway)
Cultural Heritage, Creative Skills & Employability Youth Pathway
Ages 14–25
📸 Create | 📝 Document | 🗄 Preserve | 🌍 Share
BLUEPRINT is a practical cultural heritage and creative skills pathway for young people aged 14–25.
This youth pathway helps participants explore local history, cultural heritage, creativity, and community through hands-on projects that develop real-world skills and experience.
Delivered through The Benjamin Zephaniah Library & Archives Research & Development Programme, BLUEPRINT combines photography, oral history, archives, storytelling, and employability skills to help young people learn, create, and contribute to their communities.
Participants gain practical experience while building confidence, developing portfolios, and preparing for future education, volunteering, employment, and creative opportunities.
🚀 Real Experience
Apply your learning through practical projects and community activities.
Examples may include:
🎙 Conducting an oral history interview
📸 Documenting local heritage
🗄 Creating an archive collection
🎤 Delivering a presentation
🌍 Publishing online content
📚 Contributing to community projects
This practical experience helps participants build confidence and strengthen future progression opportunities.
We are proud to align our work with recognised professional standards through our engagement with the Archives and Records Association (ARA), the Oral History Society (OHS), and the National Archives.
These connections ensure that our approach to archiving, oral history, and cultural preservation is ethical, accurate, and sustainable.
By working in alignment with these organisations, we are ensuring good support and best practices in documenting, safeguarding, and sharing stories while giving young people real-world experience of professional archival processes and standards.
Young people can volunteer with us to gain hands-on experience in creative projects, archiving, and community work. Building a foundation for confidence and skill enhancement.
Both of our Blueprint and Stride Pathway Programmes include mentoring support and a workshop in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).
DBT aims to help our young people (individuals) to
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Understand and accept your difficult feelings
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Learn skills to manage these feelings
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Become able to make positive changes in your life
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Helping you change unhelpful ways of thinking and behaving, while also focusing on accepting who you are.
If you are a business, educational institute, or community organisation interested in our youth programme, please email Michi Masumi at theblackarthub@gmail.com.
💙 Discover Your Community. Develop Your Skills.
Create Your Future.
🌟 What Will You Learn?
🎙 Oral History & Storytelling
Learn how to collect, record, and preserve community stories through the following:
✔ Interview skills
✔ Listening skills
✔ Recording techniques
✔ Consent & ethics
✔ Storytelling methods
✔ Community engagement
Participants complete their own oral history recording as part of their learning journey.
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📸 Photography & Visual Documentation
Develop practical photography skills through:
✔ Portrait photography
✔ Documentary photography
✔ Environmental photography
✔ Heritage photography
✔ Archival photography
✔ Visual storytelling
Participants learn how photography can preserve people, places, and cultural heritage.
📱 Digital Skills & Content Creation
Develop valuable digital and creative skills, including:
✔ Social media content creation
✔ Digital storytelling
✔ Website content
✔ Online learning
✔ Community engagement
✔ Basic marketing
✔ Creative project planning
✔ Content scheduling
🗄 Archives, Preservation & Research
Discover how archives help protect history, culture, and community knowledge.
Learn:
✔ Cataloguing
✔ Metadata
✔ Digital preservation
✔ Research skills
✔ Collection management
✔ Record keeping
Participants use the PAC Framework:
🗄 Preserve | 📂 Archive | 📝 Catalogue
🎨 Creativity & Community Engagement
Explore creative ways of sharing stories and heritage through:
✔ Photography
✔ Oral history
✔ Storytelling
✔ Exhibitions
✔ Presentations
✔ Community events
✔ Online content
✔ Heritage projects
🎯 Your Heritage Project
Every participant develops their own cultural heritage project.
Projects may include:
📸 Photography collections
🎙 Oral history recordings
📚 Research projects
🗄 Archive collections
🌍 Digital heritage content
🎤 Community presentations
Participants learn how to take an idea from concept through to completion.
We aim to empower young people to become creators, not just consumers.
We want participants to leave the programme with tangible outputs—photographs, recordings, written work and archive contributions—that reflect their journey and can support future opportunities.
At the same time, Blueprint contributes to a growing digital cultural heritage archive, ensuring that stories, voices and experiences are preserved for future generations.
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Create & Document
Explore powerful stories from Black British history through photography, archives and lived experiences.
A youth-led gallery of culture, identity and heritage.
The Blueprint Gallery is a living archive of stories, people and moments that shape Black British history and identity.
Each topic becomes a starting point for creativity, discussion and learning — giving young people the opportunity to explore, respond and create their own work.
Encouraging Personal Development too
Ultimately, Blueprint is about creating pathways into education, employment, and lifelong creative engagement while building a legacy of representation, ownership, and cultural preservation through art, tech, and poetry. Young people chose their subject matter, e.g., Medway's Skaters Community. Market Stall Holders in Strood. In Partnership with Studio 6B
From Gallery to Creation
Each gallery topic is used within the Blueprint programme to guide learning and creative response.
Participants:
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Explore real stories and historical figures
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Reflect on identity and lived experience
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Create photography, writing and audio work
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Contribute to a growing digital archive
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AI-assist creative storytelling
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Curating
Exhibition Partners: The Halpern Gallery, The Halpern Pop, Medway Artbox, Intra Arts, and No 64 Coffee & Brunch.
Youth Programme | Stride
Youth Wellbeing, Leadership & Employability Pathway (Medway)
Ages 16–25
🚶 Movement | 🌟 Leadership | 🎨 Creativity | 📈 Growth
Kick-Start Your Career in Coaching, Leadership & Employment
STRIDE is a practical training and development pathway for young people aged 16–25 who want to build confidence, gain real experience, and develop the skills needed for employment, self-employment, volunteering, and community leadership.
Delivered through the Benjamin Zephaniah Library & Archives Research & Development Programme, STRIDE combines well-being, leadership, employability, and creative documentation. Participants gain hands-on experience while making a positive contribution to their communities.
Young people are supported to explore future career pathways, develop professional skills, and build a portfolio that strengthens progression into employment, further education, training, or enterprise.
Winter 2026 | Spring 2027
🌟 What Will You Learn?
🧠 Leadership & Personal
Development
Develop practical leadership skills through:
✔ Communication & teamwork
✔ Confidence building
✔ Problem solving
✔ Decision making
✔ Goal setting
✔ Time management
✔ Professional conduct
✔ Community leadership
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🚶 Coaching & Wellbeing
Gain experience in wellbeing and community-based coaching:
✔ Introduction to Sport Coaching
✔ Session planning & delivery
✔ Wellbeing Walk Leadership
✔ Community engagement activities
✔ Physical activity promotion
✔ Confidence & resilience building
Future Development
🌲 Nordic Walking
💪 NORFIT
🎾 Additional Coaching Qualifications
💼 Employability Skills
Prepare for employment and self-employment opportunities.
Training may include:
✔ CV writing
✔ Interview preparation
✔ Workplace expectations
✔ Customer service
✔ Professional communication
✔ Personal branding
✔ Financial awareness
✔ Career planning
Participants are supported to identify personal, educational and employment goals whilst building confidence for future opportunities
📱 Digital Skills & Content Creation
Develop valuable digital and creative skills, including:
✔ Social media content creation
✔ Introduction to marketing
✔ Online learning & CPD
✔ Personal branding
✔ Digital storytelling
✔ Basic mobile videography
✔ Content planning & scheduling
Additional online learning opportunities may be available through partner CPD providers.
📸 Photography & Creative Documentation
A distinctive feature of STRIDE is its focus on creative documentation and reflective practice.
Participants document their journey through:
📸 Photography
🎙 Voice notes
📖 Reflective journals
🎥 Video introductions
📱 Social media content
📝 Personal development records
This helps young people evidence their achievements, build portfolios, and grow confidence in presenting themselves professionally.
🎯 Real Experience
Participants apply learning through supervised delivery and community-based activities.
Examples include:
🎾 Assisting with or delivering a exercise, sports, or wellbeing coaching session
🚶 Supporting a wellbeing walk
📱 Creating promotional content
🎤 Presenting personal achievements
📸 Documenting projects through photography and storytelling
🚀 Looking Ahead
STRIDE is designed as an evolving pathway.
Future phases may include:
🎥 Mobile videography
🎬 Film production
🎙 Podcasting
🌍 Community media projects
🏅 Advanced coaching qualifications
🌟 Additional leadership pathways
🤝 Our Commitment
📚 Learn
Gain practical knowledge and transferable skills.
🎨 Create
Produce meaningful content and projects.
🤝 Connect
Build positive relationships and community networks.
🌟 Lead
Develop confidence and leadership experience.
📈 Progress
Improve education, training, and employment opportunities.
🌐 Partnership Approach
STRIDE works collaboratively across:
🏫 Education
👥 Youth Services
📚 Libraries
🏛 Heritage Organisations
🎨 Arts & Culture
💼 Employability Services
🏘 Community Organisations
💚 Health & Wellbeing Services
🎾 Sports & Recreation Providers
Partnerships are developed according to programme needs, opportunities and available funding.
🌱 Sustainability
STRIDE operates through a mixed funding model, including:
💷 Grants
🤝 Sponsorship
📋 Commissioned Delivery
🎓 Educational Partnerships
🛠 Workshop Income
🏘 Community Support
This approach helps ensure long-term sustainability while keeping opportunities accessible to young people across Medway.
We continue to develop and grow The Black Art Hub CIC youth advisory board.
Youth Programme | Studio 6B
About Studio 6B
Studio 6B is a creative cultural heritage and learning programme for children aged 4–13, designed to inspire curiosity, confidence, and creativity through hands-on activities that explore Black British history, modern Medway, and the diverse communities that shape our world today.
Through a combination of arts, storytelling, photography, books, creative technology, and cultural exploration, children are encouraged to learn in fun, engaging, and accessible ways that support both personal and educational development.
The programme introduces young people to local history, cultural heritage, and community stories through age-appropriate activities that encourage imagination, critical thinking, and discovery.
Children may explore historical figures, local landmarks, cultural traditions, oral storytelling, creative writing, photography, and simple research projects, helping them understand how people, places, and events contribute to the communities around them.
Studio 6B aims to make history and heritage relevant, exciting, and meaningful for today's generation.
Alongside cultural learning, Studio 6B helps children develop important life skills, including communication, teamwork, confidence, problem-solving, and self-expression. Activities are designed to be inclusive, supportive, and neurodivergent-friendly, creating opportunities for children to learn through doing, making, exploring, and sharing.
By combining creativity, culture, technology, and community engagement, Studio 6B provides a strong foundation for lifelong learning and acts as an early progression pathway into the wider Youth Pathways (Medway) programmes, including Blueprint and Stride.
Characters (above right) are copyrighted to Michi Masumi
Video credit: Michi Masumi -
(mixed-ability reception, primary school aged 3-5 years old)
Bespoke learning packages available on request
Exploring Cultural Heritage Through Youth-Led Practice
Free To Join
Your Voice. Your Ideas. Your Future.
Apply Today
🌟 Volunteer Opportunities
🟢 Senior Youth Advisory Board Members aged 14 to 25 (x 2)
Supporting community activities for ages 7–13 and 14–25
🟡 Youth Advisory Members (x3-5)
Age: 14–18 (with parental/guardian consent required)
🧠 Purpose
To ensure that our work across the following areas
Anthropology | Art | AI
remains relevant, inclusive, and reflective of younger generations, particularly within:
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Black British communities
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Wider, diverse communities
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The Medway/Kent region
🗓️ Commitment
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Attend 3 advisory meetings per year
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Occasional input via email or online discussion
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Optional involvement in events or projects
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We ask for a one-year commitment, and we will work around your education /work schedules
👉 This is a light-touch, strategic role (not operational)
💬 What You’ll Do
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Share your perspective on:
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creative projects
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exhibitions
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digital content
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youth engagement
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Contribute ideas for:
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events
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social media
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cultural storytelling
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Help shape how we engage younger audiences
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Act as a voice for your generation within the organisation
Your Voice | Your Community | Your Activities
🧩 Who This Is For
We are looking for young people who are:
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Interested in art, culture, or creative expression
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Curious about AI, media, or digital platforms
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Willing to share ideas and opinions
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Based in or connected to Medway / Kent (preferred but not essential)
💥 What You Gain
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Experience contributing to a real advisory board
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Insight into:
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arts organisations
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creative industries
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research-led practice
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Mentorship and guidance
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A strong addition to:
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CV
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personal statements
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university or career applications
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⚠️ Important (Under 18s)
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Parental/guardian consent required
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Safeguarding processes will be in place
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Participation is voluntary and flexible
Youth Pathways -
Medway Community in Partnership
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Partnerships That Deliver Impact
We work with organisations to design and deliver high-quality creative and cultural experiences that engage communities, support inclusion, and leave a lasting legacy.
Through this, we are able to deliver programmes that not only inspire creativity but also introduce young people to professional archival practice, including cataloguing, metadata, and digital preservation.
Working in partnership across local, regional, and national organisations to support the credibility and sustainability of our growing digital archive, helping us to preserve stories responsibly while contributing to wider national conversations around heritage, representation, accessibility, and youth employability pathways.
Educational Partners:
Medway Libraries | Wordsmithery/Medway River Lit (MRL) | Black History Studies | Medway Culture Club | Medway Archive
