Interconnected Realms: Exploring Togetherness Exhibition

A range of selected entries from the Stronger Together for a Better World Competition is currently being exhibited at the Europe House in London until 14 June 2024. The Interconnected Realms: Exploring Togetherness Exhibition is part of the EU/UK Stronger Together programme and is co-organised with the European Parliament Liaison Office in the UK.

The exhibition seeks to celebrate and critically engage with young people’s views of ‘Togetherness’. Through the competition we invited young people aged 18–30 to creatively express the added value of collaboration on the topics of peace, democracy, equality, solidarity and sustainable development between youth in the UK and the EU. The entries were assessed against the criteria of the core messages expressed, the innovative thinking behind the idea, as well as the promotion of the value of co-operation between the EU and the UK.

Exhibition dates and venue

Dates 25 April 2024 – 14 June 2024
Venue 12 Star Gallery
Europe House
32 Smith Square
London SW1P 3EU
United Kingdom

Community Workshop: Derry~Londonderry, 6–10 November 2023

In partnership with the Nerve Centre and the North West Regional College, we held a five-day workshop in Derry~Londonderry from 6–10 November 2023. We worked with 30 media and journalism students on an intensive production programme, which saw media industry professionals mentoring participants in the creation of a series of media assets that reflect their opinions around key issues impacting on the lives of young people across the island of Ireland today.

We worked with young people from Ireland and Northern Ireland to develop high quality media content showcasing the diverse views of young people living across the island of Ireland today.

The hothouse supported students to work in live-action moving image – whether drama, documentary, comedy, news reportage current affairs etc. Online content creation and technical production skills were key themes of the whole programme. Through this work, the college students gained hands-on experience, shared views and identified the topics they would work on. They also acquired a better understanding of the significance of their communities, while working together on the final outputs, developing their skills and building connections.

Media mentions, articles written by our travel grantees

The articles were written by young journalists, who are grantees of the project.

Videos of the workshop and films created by young participants

Stronger Together for a Better World Competition

As part of the EU/UK Stronger Together programme, we are launching a Stronger Together for a Better World Competition to highlight the potential for co-operation between young people in the UK and EU.

We invite young people aged 18–30 to creatively express the concept of ‘Togetherness’ and the added value of collaboration on the topics of peace, democracy, equality, solidarity and sustainable development between youth in the UK and the EU. Create a piece of work of your choice or select a piece you might have already created – a simple short paragraph, drawing, photo, video, podcast, article, installation, etc. – and join our community of young people across the EU and the UK!

16 selected entries will feature in an exhibition planned to take place at the Europe House in London in May 2024. Winners of the competition will be invited to the final event in London in November 2024.

Entries will be assessed against the following criteria:

  • The core messaged being expressed.
  • The innovative thinking behind the idea.
  • The promotion of the value of co-operation between the EU and the UK.

The format of entries is not part of the assessment criteria.

The competition opens on 25 October 2023 and closes on 10 March 2024.

Articles produced by young participants and selected for the final exhibition:

Gabriela Gergova, Bulgaria

The Citizenship Workshop seamlessly brought together young minds from Ireland and Northern Ireland and guided them towards finding innovative solutions for pressing crossborder issues. The North West Regional College provided a valuable space for filmmakers to refine their skills, not not just in terms of technical aspects but also in using their craft as a medium for positive impact.

Caoimhe Clements, UK

Northern Ireland still has a problem with mental health. According to the Mental Health Foundation one in five adults in Northern Ireland have a mental health condition. Northern Ireland also has a higher rate of depression than the rest of the United Kingdom. These figures are alarming.

Heather Storgaard, UK

‘Togetherness’ is another concept the Germans have all the best words for. At 14, precocious and very invested in learning German as a way to escape my dreary, dark town, I announced ‘Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühl’ to be my favourite word. ‘A feeling of togetherness and belonging’ – what a phrase to put in to one word that goes on forever. A particularly poor supply teacher didn’t believe that my word existed, but as far as I remember I stubbornly worked it into my poorly formatted, grammar-less German essays anyway. It’s certainly what I believed we had in Europe, back before the Brexit vote made Europeanness political in my little slice of the world.

Lasha Svanishvili, Lithuania

In a world that frequently stresses differences, initiatives like this highlight the common aspirations and struggles that unite youth. As the project progresses, it conveys a strong message: collaboration is not only desirable, but also necessary for a brighter, more interconnected future for young people in the United Kingdom and the European Union. We can actually bridge the gap.

How to take part

  1. Fill in the entry form.
  2. Review and accept the competition rules by clicking on the Accept button on the form. The competition rules are available in the ‘Downloads’ section below.
  3. Click on the Submit button when you have completed the form.
  4. Submit your entry/photo of your piece of work via email to StrongerTogetherYouth@britishcouncil.org. Please write Competition entry in the subject line of your email, and your name and surname in the body of the text. The deadline for submissions of entries is 10 March 2024 (23.59 UK time).

Please note: If the file exceeds 10MB, upload it to a file-sharing platform (e.g. DropBox, WeTransfer, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, etc.) and then send the link to the email address above.

You can also upload your entry on social media using the hashtag #StrongerTogetherYouth to create some buzz around it!

We look forward to receiving your entries and seeing your vision of co-operation for EU/UK youth!

About Stronger Together for a Better World

We work with young activists aged 18–30 from across the UK and EU through community workshops, joint events and training so as to promote shared fundamental values and give prominence to the role of youth in bringing about positive change, social cohesion and peace.

Activities include:

  • community workshops for young people in Ireland and Northern Ireland to design community-led public space interventions
  • a competition involving podcasting, photography, video making, article writing and visual creation to show what young people from the EU and the UK can achieve together.
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