L-R Paul Treanor, St. Matthew’s Primary School, Stephen McGowan, Urban Villages Initiative, Fiona Corvan, Makematic, Eoghan Doherty, Host with Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Deirdre Hargey, Anna Thompson Botanic Primary School and pupils from Elmgrove Primary School (green uniform, P5) and St Matthew’s Primary School, blue uniform (P6) are pictured at the Urban Digital Futures event this morning at the Odyssey Cinema, Belfast. More than 400 young pupils from 10 primary schools in Belfast and Derry~Londonderry met today, Friday, 15 June to see their work showcased on the big screen as part of the urban digital skills programme. Supported by Belfast City Council and The Executive Office through its Urban Villages Initiative, the Urban Digital Futures programme has encouraged students to celebrate the theme of ‘Home’, whilst developing valuable animation, photography and video-editing skills in the process. 

More than 400 young pupils from 10 primary schools in Belfast and Derry~Londonderry met at the Odyssey cinema recently to see their work showcased on the big screen as part of an urban digital skills programme.

Supported by Belfast City Council and The Executive Office through its Urban Villages Initiative, the Urban Digital Futures programme has encouraged students to celebrate the theme of ‘Home’, whilst developing valuable animation, photography and video-editing skills in the process.

Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Deirdre Hargey said: “We’re delighted to have supported these young pupils to explore their creativity and sense of what ‘Home’ means to them in a fun way. But I also hope that the Urban Digital Futures programme has sparked their interest in the creative industries, which is such a growing sector in our economy. 

“We’ve made a commitment in The Belfast Agenda to create opportunities, increase skills and enable empowered citizens.  It’s so important that we nurture our young people and foster their talents so that they can achieve their full potential.  I hope that these children feel a great deal of pride in seeing what they’ve achieved together on the big screen today, and that their self-confidence is boosted as a result.”

Anna Thompson, a teacher from Botanic Primary School, whose Year 7 class took part in the project said: “The Urban Digital Futures programme has encouraged my class to express their creativity using a range of digital platforms. The open ended concept of ‘Home’ has enabled them to split in to small groups and take responsibility for their work, developing leadership and co-operative learning skills.”

In addition to supporting students’ projects, the Urban Digital Futures programme will provide over 1,000 teachers with access to a year of online professional development resources through makematic.com and a variety of face-to-face training opportunities.

The Executive Office provided £35,000 funding for this programme through the Urban Villages Initiative. Linsey Farrell, Director of the Urban Villages Initiative added, “I am delighted to see how this partnership with Belfast City Council has helped primary school pupils from Urban Village areas showcase the thriving places where they live, learn and play.

“These young people have developed their digital skills and talents and improved their self-confidence and have the potential to become the creative entrepreneurs of the future.

The support provided to teachers through the Urban Digital Futures programme will leave a legacy helping schools continue to inspire more children from Urban Village areas.”

A selection of the student projects will be showcased online at www.urbandigitalfutures.com