Project Description
The NOW festival aims to engage young people in a creative discussion around the topic of mental health, through whatever ‘NOW’ issue is chosen by the team and young people’s steering group.
Previous themes have included ‘Mental Health and Technology’, ‘Mental Health and the Rights of the Child’ and ‘My Education, My Mental Health’. This year’s theme is ‘Rise Up: Adverse Childhood Experience’ and is all about exploring mental health and resilience.
The aims of the event are to:
- Empower young people to challenge stigma about mental health
- Educate young people about mental health
- To give them a voice and an active lead role in devising their pieces
- Knowledge and ownership on the NOW issue and how these can affect mental health
- Build confidence and self-esteem by taking part in the process / performing on stage
- Ultimately, have fun and enjoy the whole process of talking about mental health and the NOW theme whilst challenging stigma.
We have worked with the RAISE Team and their young person steering group each year since 2017 to develop their website and branding for each festival.