Mic Drop on Misogyny – Napier Students Podcasting Change

Fast Forward are focused on listening to, and learning from, young people in order to support them in making informed decisions about risk-taking behaviours. We are also passionate about the benefits of partnership working, and are keen to offer quality placements to students that enhance their learning and experiences wherever possible. When our friends at Napier approached us about a multi-disciplinary team who were keen to work with us, we jumped at the chance.

The group were keen to explore gender based violence, and the most effective ways to communicate with young people.

It’s great to have the opportunity to hand over the reins to the team to share their experience of working with the Fast Forward team!

This blog is about our individual experiences working with Fast Forward, a charity that creates resources for young people and adults. We are Erin and Niki, and we took part in a university project within a small group where we were challenged to create a new resource for the charity to potentially use. The brief in our university class was set by the charity for the module called “Collaborative Practice”. This module includes a variety of students who study different courses such as Mass Communications, Music, Film and Journalism. These subjects interlink and work well together, which is beneficial for this class.

As previously talked about, the module brings together students from different courses to collaborate, helping expand their creativity. This approach encourages idea generation and the development of new skill sets, which are useful for future university projects. Getting the chance to work with Fast Forward was an advantage, as everyone in the group was able to try new things and step out of their comfort zones. Every member of our group brought something new and different to the table, which helped in reaching all aspects of the brief. Another benefit of this module was the opportunity to meet new people that we would not normally interact with. This helped to strengthen relationships and develop social skills, which are crucial when entering the world of work.

Working with the charity was an eye-opening experience in relation to potential job sectors we could work in. Many people our age are unsure about future career plans, so this opportunity offered further insight into how charities function. Fast Forward was very responsive, not only with us but also with our lecturer. This was an important attribute because it allowed us to seek advice and receive feedback quickly. When creating our project, we sent out a survey to current high school students, and this showed us what support resources would be most beneficial to them. During the final pitch, the charity showed strong interest in our idea, which was a confidence boost for the group, as we had never presented ideas to an organisation before. We were keen to take part in this project because we believed that younger people are more inclined to listen to teenagers who are fresh out of high school, like ourselves. Overall, this project allowed us to try something new and challenge ourselves to step out of our comfort zones. We also thought that by engaging in this project we would be helping young people change and acknowledge significant issues.

Erin Swan & Nikoletta Feher

Check out the brilliant website the team created along with their podcast series 1, 2, 3, ears on me. Click here