Symposium encourages young people to connect with local cultural venues

Abingdon & Witney College hosted the South Oxfordshire & Vale of the White Horse Culture, Heritage & Creative Industries Symposium at Abingdon Campus on Wednesday 7^th October.

The symposium was designed to encourage discussion about the future of arts and culture in the region, supported by grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England. This event brought together representatives from the culture, heritage, arts and community sectors across Oxfordshire to focus on sharing ideas and exploring opportunities to engage with young people through collaboration with the College.

Attendees included colleagues from South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils, alongside organisations such as the River & Rowing Museum, Abingdon Museum, Didcot Railway Centre, Pendon Museum, MakeSpace Oxfordshire, Wood Festival, Oxford Health Charity, Braziers Park, Aston Martin Heritage Trust, Abingdon Abbey Buildings, GLAM at the University of Oxford, and cultural consultancy Flying Geese.

This diverse mix created valuable opportunities for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and discussion about the future of culture, heritage and community engagement across the region.

Cllr Helen Pighills, Cabinet Member for Community Health and Wellbeing at Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “It’s great to see people from across the creative and cultural community coming together to share ideas and discuss opportunities for the future. Events like this are a fantastic opportunity to build stronger connections, share knowledge and find new ways to support arts, culture and heritage across Oxfordshire.”

The evening included the launch of a new strategy from Flying Geese Consultancy, followed by a collaborative workshop exploring opportunities for projects, live briefs, placements, visits and guest speakers, as well as ways to encourage more young people to engage with local cultural venues, facilities and opportunities.

Attendees also enjoyed a performance from our Performing Arts students before joining a group discussion to share updates, exchange ideas and explore opportunities for future collaboration.

Cllr Georgina Heritage, Cabinet Member for Communities at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “The latest symposium was another brilliant success, bringing people together from across the local arts, culture and heritage community to share ideas and explore opportunities for the future. It’s inspiring to see organisations building stronger connections, sharing ideas and creating new opportunities to help the creative community grow.”

The symposium highlighted the value of bringing together education, culture, heritage and community organisations to create meaningful opportunities for young people. By strengthening partnerships across the region, Abingdon & Witney College and its partners hope to inspire more students to explore local cultural venues, develop new skills and discover future pathways within the creative industries.