CDEC has a strong history of working with communities and schools through projects. They give us the chance to live out our principles by working in partnership with other organisations around the world, where we share our expertise and ideas while developing new ones.
For example, locally we have worked with AWAZ Cumbria, South Lakeland Equality and Diversity Partnership and local district councils. Further afield, we have strong relationships with organisations in Italy, Poland, France, the Czech Republic and Ghana, to name a few.
Our projects run because we gain funding from a variety of sources. In the past, we have secured funding from the EU, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Awards for All, as well as trusts.
Have a look at our current and past projects, and keep an eye out for our new endeavours!
Current Projects
Same Storm, Different Boats
CDEC is leading a group of organisations within the Same Storm, Different Boats project to bring to the fore and to support black, brown, minority ethnic, migrant and refugee people in Cumbria. The aim is to support these groups of people through the COVID crisis by pooling skills and experience harboured within the different organisations.
The Bubble and Me
Working with M-Unit and Tullie House, we are getting together with young people from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds in Carlisle to explore their cultural identity and themes around belonging.
Reporting the Storm
Reporting the Storm focuses on Barrow-in-Furness’s 11 to 13-year-olds to help them develop new skills in digital technologies and creativity. CDEC is leading this partnership project, working alongside Furness Multicultural Community Forum, Creative Communities, and Buzz Bury Learning and Creativity.
Discovered Stories Shared Communities
Discovered Stories Shared Communities brings together people from diverse communities to share, explore and work with ideas and stories. It develops ways of understanding what it means to be a resilient and welcoming community.
Building Communities of Welcome
CDEC have been working with AWAZ Cumbria on their Community Integration Project with Building Communities of Welcome.
Encountering Wordsworth's Legacy
Wordsworth and Cumbria are synonymous with one another. It is no surprise therefore that we are celebrating the 250th anniversary of Wordsworth’s birth in 2020, through the Encountering Wordsworth’s Legacy project.
Past Projects
No More Bricks in the Wall
No More Bricks in the Wall is a campaign to make 3 October the European Day for Memory and Welcome. CDEC is working with other development education centres across the UK (and organisations across Europe) to campaign for the recognition of this day, with a series of events in London on 3 October, and workshops and film screenings in Cumbria throughout October. It is part of the much larger Snapshots From the Borders European project.
Hidden Stories - Extending the conversation
Delve into the Hidden Stories of those who have moved to Cumbria having been born outside the UK. Explore the meaning of home, belonging and identity through the community exhibitions and take part in the workshops that 'extend' the conversation of the original Hidden Stories Shared Lives project.
Hidden Stories Shared Lives
Hidden Stories was a heritage project that gathered, shared and celebrated the story of migration in Cumbria – the coming and going of people, past and present, that shapes Cumbria’s identity.
Map Your Meal
Map Your Meal was a three-year project that helped young individuals to understand the impact of global food production on people and the planet.