Birmingham 150

Hear from Emma Berwick (International Business with Languages student) who recently attended the Birmingham 150 programme which she found to be a very valuable experience

A four-day online programme, Birmingham 150 was focused on sustainability and our environmental impact. On the first day, we introduced ourselves and shared our opinions on certain topics. We were then split into groups of around eight where we were tasked with creating a sustainable project to improve Birmingham. Along the way, there were talks from local organisations, someone from Birmingham City Council who spoke about their journey and gave us some words of wisdom.

Even though the programme was online, we had a structured programme, supported by a mentor. Our mentor was from Jacobs UK and he would always challenge us further with our ideas, so we could refine our project.

Initially, having almost 20 ideas on our group Padlet, we whittled it down to protecting Birmingham’s green spaces. My group decided to tackle the litter programme in Birmingham through organising multi-day litter picking event. The most scary but exciting part was having other groups visit our project to give constructive feedback. As the programme drew to a close, we created a presentation, which we then presented to the rest of group.

Throughout the programme, we were encouraged to be critical of our ideas and strategic with our project. Being brought together with young people all over Birmingham gave me the opportunity to expand my own horizons and gain a greater insight of how we could tackle these issues. Coming from different backgrounds, people in the world of work, apprentices and university students, really gave us a range of perspectives and approaches to the projects.

Having completed the programme, we were all encouraged to take action on our projects and come together to make a difference in Birmingham. Watch that space!

[Thanks to Emma for taking the time to write a blog about her experience]