What is “Reading Activists”?

Reading Activists in the new name for The Reading Agency’s MyVoice project.

Reading Activists is running in 18 regions in the UK and, according to The Reading Agency,  by 2014 there will be:

• 6000 young people running 60 reading hubs in libraries, schools and youth clubs
• 27,500 young people taking part in 760 creative reading and writing activities
• 30,000 young people taking part in online reading activities, of which 6000 will be doing reading-inspired volunteering roles

You can get details on The Reading Agency’s Reading Activists project via their website,  on their facebook page called In the Loop and by following them on Twitter @ReadingActivist.

But, is it for you?

• Are you aged 11 to 19 years?
• Looking for something fun, exciting and creative to do?
• Want to meet other young people to make a difference?
• Interested in putting on events for young people?
• Want to learn new skills and get some work experience?
• Want to meet writers, musicians, artists and other creative people?

Gain new skills and build confidence by becoming a Reading Activist in your local community.

What Reading Activists means to us

We got involved in Croydon MyVoice at Ashburton Library and don’t regret it one bit, although there is always more that can be done! We took along a friend too and we’ve now had experience in organising events, including nail art – which really is NOT our thing, but, hey, you have to go along with the majority vote.

Reading Activists may be operating in your area so take a look and give it a try.

In our next posts we will give details of what we have done in Croydon and how the project has developed.

MyVoice Word Fest #Croydon

On Saturday 17th November, an event will be held at the Croydon Central Library/Clocktower from 10.30-4.00pm.

There will be at least four workshops of which people will be able to choose two to do. The workshops we are considering so far are: Creative Writing Workshop (possibly on a gothic/romantic theme and including looking at different writers styles and how to write for genres), Manga Workshop, Hip Hop Shakespeare workshop and a Street Dance workshop. These are still to be decided.

The plan is that there will be stalls for people to look at while they are waiting for or between workshops. For example, some of the possibilities we are considering are publishers, authors, book shops, Croydon College, careers advice, nail art, graffiti wall, library information, join the library, book swap and a book give-away. We also hope to have an ongoing art/craft activity that people can drop in and out of.

We have already held a Word Fest meeting at Croydon Central Library to get these initial ideas together, but there is so much more to plan! This is part of the Reading Agency, MyVoice Project in Croydon and anyone aged 11-19 is welcome to get involved.

If you can think of anything else or would like to get your ideas across, come to the Word Fest planning meeting on the 8th September in Ashburton Library. The meeting will be held at 2.30pm. We will also be discussing ways we will publicise the event, and design ideas for logos, etc.

If you can’t make the meeting but have ideas to share, add them to this blog and we will take them along!

It is helpful if you can let Liz, the librarian in charge, know that you are coming to the planning meeting so that she can plan for numbers and refreshments. Email her at myvoice@croydon.gov.uk.

We hope to see you there!

Click on the link below to download the official poster. Display it and help spread the word!
word fest planning meeting poster

MyVoice – get involved!

Croydon Central Library held its first MyVoice planning meeting this past Tuesday, allowing 11-19 year olds to really get involved in their local libraries and contribute to the planning of future events. In this meeting, we discussed a few ideas for the upcoming Word Fest (though this name might be changed, as there may be some activities to do with art, etc.)

Some of the ideas people were keen on are listed below:
Manga Workshop
Creative Writing Workshop
Stalls – a number of stalls from publishers/book stores/agencies that support young people
‘What’s Croydon Reading?’ feature in Croydon Advertiser/Croydon Radio
The Hip Hop Shakespeare Company workshopStreet Dance Workshop
Football match reporting
Authors – Workshop? Reading? Debate?
Broadcasting Book Reviews
Reverse the Riots Campaign

It’s not too late to get involved!
If you would like to join us in planning these activities, you can contact Fiona Tarn at Croydon Central Library or email MyVoice@croydon.gov.uk

We will keep you updated with the plans for future MyVoice workshops and events for the Word Fest, on this blog. Feel free to suggest your ideas to us here or on Twitter and get involved.

It would be great if other MyVoice groups could share ideas and activities that were particularly successful.

Croydon Radio and author Diane Messidoro promote MyVoice event at Croydon Central Library

Yesterday, on Croydon Radio, new host Janet Smith interviewed the author Diane Messidoro about her new book, How to Keep a Boy as a Pet, as well as answering people’s questions about writing and talking about libraries in general.

We would like to say a big thank you to Janet Smith for picking up on our post and for reading out the details of Word Fest at Croydon Central Library! to Croydon on her programme.

We found the whole interview very interesting, and the interview can be relistened to here, under ‘The Croydon Arts Show – Extra, on Sat Aug 4th at 11:00 UK’. It is definitely worth a listen.

If you’d like to hear the promotion of MyVoiceUK and the thoughts of Diane Messidoro on the benefit of libraries you can listen at 28 minute in, or click on the audioboo below, made with kind permission from the team at Croydon Radio.

 

Word Fest at Croydon Central Library!

Croydon Central Library will be holding its first MyVoice planning meeting on Tuesday 7th August at 2pm. This is a great chance for young people to get more involved in their local libraries and plan future events to be held there.

MyVoice is a Reading Agency project for children aged 11-19, and welcomes new people to come along. It is already running in Ashburton and Thornton Heath libraries in Croydon.

It would be really helpful to phone in advance so the library knows how many people are coming, but this is not necessary if it is a last minute decision. You can just turn up for this initial planning session to get ideas for creating a Word Fest to be held later this year.

If you are unsure you might like to check out details of what MyVoice has been doing in other Croydon libraries here.

We hope to see lots of people on the 7th!

Ask for Liz or Fiona when you turn up, or drop them an email atMyVoice@croydon.gov.uk

Teen Writing Group back to Saturdays

We are very pleased to say that the monthly Sanderstead library’s Young Writer’s Group has returned to the original Saturday slot after a year of the dates, days and times being shifted around and various staff running it before moving on elsewhere.

Sanderstead Writing Group

It’s finally back on a Saturday, which was the original time agreed by all the teenagers who attended over a year ago, before the changes started. The last move was to a Wednesday, which no-one could attend.

It’s really good that it is back to a day which the group can attend. The next meeting is on 21st July, the first weekend of the holidays, and there are no forward dates as it relies heavily a member of the library staff being able to run it. As soon as we know the dates from September onwards, we will post them here.

Are you able to come along? Have you attended before? What do you enjoy most about these events?

If you know of any events for children or teens in any other Croydon libraries, let us know. We’d be happy to add it to this site.

What is MyVoice?

Here is a link to the Reading Agency MyVoice project. This project is running in libraries around the country, including Croydon’s Ashburton library.

The details of the MyVoice project in Croydon are not yet on the council website, but you can find details here and of course we will keep you updated on this blog. If you are involved in the MyVoice project, we would love to hear about what you have planned or what you have done. You are welcome to add a comment here or post to us on: teens4libraries@gmail.com

Ashburton Cupcake Decorating

This Friday (8th June) there is going to be a cupcake decorating workshop. Please feel free to call up the library, for more information and to book.

The details are shown on the poster below.

Cupcake decorating details

Ashburton Library is on Shirley Road Croydon CR9 7AL.
Find it on google maps here.