Childhood, climate and changing the city

What’s on offer?

This discussion-based event will take place in Manchester Art Gallery’s Family Learning Gallery. Responding to the Puddle Safari display, it aims to open a conversation about how we, as adults, can start to re-imagine the city when our starting point is from the way that young children experience the city.

What’s it about?

How do climate change and the cityscape shape the experiences of young children and their families? How might listening to the youngest children might help us to re-imagine the city?

Join us in the new Family Learning Gallery at Manchester Art Gallery to explore how climate change and the cityscape shape the experiences of young children and their families. A panel will discuss how listening to the youngest children might help us to re-imagine the city and how their experiences could feed into Manchester City Council’s “Our Year” in 2022. This initiative seeks to engage with children and young people's perspectives on their city and how these might contribute to an expression of interest to become part of UNICEF’s Child Friendly City and Communities programme.

We will also showcase a series of ‘Puddle Safaris’ involving families with young children, which emerged from a research project at Manchester Metropolitan University. This Froebel Trust-funded project took place at Martenscroft Nursery School and Children’s Centre. It asked how very young children engage with their environment through movement and their senses.

Speakers will highlight the particular risks posed by climate change in Manchester, as demonstrated by its many puddles. They will also share examples of where communities have been involved in re-imagining green urban spaces in ways that respond both to young children and families’ experiences of the city and challenges posed by the effects of rainwater. After the panel discussion, there will be an opportunity for the audience to join the debate and ask questions.

Speakers:

Dr Christina MacRae, Research Fellow, Manchester Metropolitan University

Dr Paul O'Hare, Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University and Manchester Climate Change Agency

David Naraynsingh, Youth, Play & Participation Team, Manchester City Council

Discussion chaired by: Professor Maggie MacLure, Manchester Metropolitan University

Who’s leading the event?

Dr Christina MacRae, Research Fellow, Manchester Metropolitan University and Manchester Art Gallery

Open to

Open to anyone with an interest in re-imaging a future Manchester, who enjoys its streets, who cares about the impact of climate change on the city.

Of particular interest to

This event will appeal to parents, early years and family support workers, community activists, planners and anyone involved or interested making the city of Manchester more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.