We Belong

WE BELONG was an intergenerational creative project that brought together the women of the One Voice Collective with Year 6 girls from Beech Hill Primary School to explore identity, belonging, confidence and mutual respect through shared creative practice.

Developed through support from the West Yorkshire Mayor's Fund and FIBRE (Empowering Women and Girls), the project responded to increasing community tensions by creating something both simple and profound: a space where women and girls from different generations, cultures and life experiences could spend time together, build trust and recognise one another as equals.

The project evolved over many months through regular creative workshops, storytelling, movement, discussion and collaborative performance-making. Rather than positioning the women as teachers and the girls as learners, everyone became both mentor and participant. Relationships developed slowly through listening, curiosity and shared experience, allowing confidence to emerge naturally.

The process culminated in a powerful public performance attended by more than 200 people, including civic leaders, community organisations and local residents. The event celebrated the journeys the participants had taken together and demonstrated how creativity can become a platform for dialogue, understanding and collective action.

Alongside the artistic programme, the project developed practical leadership opportunities. Women from the One Voice Collective became volunteers, mentors and advocates, supporting younger participants while strengthening their own confidence and public voice. They represented the project at community events, worked with university students studying peace and conflict, participated in cultural visits across the region and helped shape wider conversations about community cohesion.

The impact on the girls was equally significant. Teachers described remarkable growth in confidence, empathy and resilience. Participants developed stronger relationships with one another, learnt to navigate differences with greater understanding and discovered the confidence to speak publicly through performance. The school recognised that the relationships formed with the women had created a lasting sense of self-worth that extended well beyond the life of the project.

The project also demonstrated the importance of creating opportunities for communities to meet in meaningful ways. At a time when social divisions, misinformation and hostility towards women and migrant communities had become increasingly visible, WE BELONG offered an alternative narrative built on shared humanity. Creativity became a means of fostering dialogue, dismantling assumptions and building trust between people who may otherwise never have met.

For verd de gris, WE BELONG reflects an ongoing commitment to creating spaces where relationships can flourish across generations, cultures and communities. Rather than asking people simply to celebrate diversity, the project invited them to experience connection through creativity, shared responsibility and collective expression.

The result was not only a memorable public performance but the creation of a growing community of women and girls who discovered that belonging is not something we inherit; it is something we build together.