Stretford Storytellers project exhibit reveals hopes and ideas for the town

Our amazing group of Stretford Storytellers have showcased their work at a special event.

The intergenerational project, run by Yellow Jigsaw, saw two of our projects, Media Cubs and Talking About My Generation, come together with Lostock High School to look at the past history of the town and explore the potential for the future.

During the project, they got out into their community to become roving reporters and chat with other locals in a video which premiered on the evening.

The exhibition space at Calm Connections was used to display their hopes and ideas, as well as a space to capture additional thoughts from attendees – with a prize for the best suggestion!

Ideas that came out of the project included a cat cafe, beauty shops, more clothes shops aimed at teenagers, a StretFest town festival, more plants and trees, outdoor gym equipment, more pedestrianised spaces, a cinema, and much more.

In attendance at the exhibition were staff from the school, parents, reporters from the Talking About My Generation project and head of Trafford Council, Tom Ross.

Tom said: “I’ve really enjoyed the event this evening and I’ve seen loads of great ideas. I’ve heard from two different generations and how they’ve come together to talk about what they want and also ask Stretford what they want to see being redeveloped so I am really pleased to have been here.”

Kirsty Day, media director at Yellow Jigsaw, added: “We’ve seen great impact from the intergenerational work, bringing together people of all ages to work together. Our older reporters, some which have lived in the area a long time, have been able to ask important questions of future generations.

“We’ve also seen an impact from upskilling the reporters, getting them to try interviewing, photography, writing and much more. Some of the young people that we upskilled have now joined the newspaper club at school which is excellent to see.”

The mall is currently under development and will feature more space for pedestrians and a community space. You can take a look at the plans.

Find out more about Yellow Jigsaw, an award-winning media consultancy and video production social enterprise.