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 recently worked with Furness Multicultural Community Forum, Lakeland Arts, The Laal Collective, Tullie House, Anti Racist Cumbria and local district councils. Beyond Cumbria, we work with other Development Education Centres across the UK - through The Global Learning Network. Further afield, we have strong relationships with organisations in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland and Turkey to name a few.
Our projects run because we gain funding from a variety of sources. Currently we have funding from Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Cumbria Community Foundation, Awards for All, Erasmus+ and smaller trusts and foundations. In the past, we have also secured funding from The National Lottery Community Fund and the National Lottery Heritage Fund as well as trusts.
Have a look at our current and past projects, and keep an eye out for our new endeavours!
Current Projects
Climate Leaders - The Future is Now
CDEC have funding to support schools for the next 3 years to develop your school’s action for climate. We want to work with you as you support your pupils to feel ownership and agency, connection and a sense of hope as they take action for climate.
Welcoming the Stranger
Welcoming the Stranger - Join Bear and experience a journey into Creativity, Compassion, and Global Learning
Blue Influencers
Young people take action to improve the Cumbrian environment Ambitious plans to improve the environment in rivers, lakes and sea around Cumbria will be spearheaded by young people, thanks to a new scheme which has brought funding into the area.
CARE EXPERIENCED COMMUNITY LEADERS
CeCL project focuses on innovation in learning and community engagement. Working closely with small groups of young people with lived experiences of being in or on the edge of care, we are exploring how the personal, people, place and planet are connected. Our aim is to support these young people as they transition to adulthood – creating new pathways to personal wellbeing, greater sense of belonging, increased community engagement and leadership. In the project we are experimenting with new approaches as well as well-established liberation pedagogy.
Migration Stories North West
Together with lead partner Global Link, CDEC, Liverpool World Centre, Cheshire Global Learning, Lancaster City Museums, Lancaster University and Crossing Footprints in Manchester, Migration Stories North West will train and support community researchers to uncover and document some of their local migration history. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, volunteers will research and document online 100 stories of migration to and from the Northwest of England since the Romans.
Welcoming and Resilient Communities
Thanks to funding from Cumbria Community Foundation and The National Lottery Awards for All fund, CDEC has worked with Furness Multicultural Community Forum to develop sessions and resources for schools- EYFS to KS3.
PLACE
Welcome to PLACE – Paths to Learning: Active Community Exploration! This latest CDEC project is helping children take outdoor action to be active members of their communities whilst also developing their own resilience.
Cumbria Virtual Voices in Religious Education
The VVRE project helps young people in schools across Cumbria to virtually meet different ‘voices’ who are connected to Cumbria and have something to say about their personal and shared religion and worldview.
STORYsilience
With young people at the helm, we are working to uncover stories authored by lesser-heard people in our communities, reinterpreting them into arts performances, and touring the work in cultural institutions (theatres, galleries, libraries, heritage sites…) across the four locations.
Merry Maker Fair
Merry Maker Fair- heritage fun for all the family. Co-creating the world we want
Past Projects
Green PLACE
The Green Place project focused on connecting people with nature by focusing on deep connection to ‘place’, nature restoration and nature-based solutions. The project empowered young people as agents of change within their communities, inspiring them to take action through nature-based community projects to enhance biodiversity, heritage and engagement with the natural environment.
Discovered Stories Shared Communities
Over the past two years, the 'Discovered Stories, Shared Communities' project has been a fantastic adventure for all of us who took part. One of the primary aims of the project was to empower communities and individuals with the skills, ideas and practices required for them to flourish in a sustainable way. Some of this collaborative and co-created work has been turned into the outputs and resources linked at the bottom of this page.
Sankofa - Storytelling for the digital age
Sankofa is a storytelling project led by CDEC that has been working with schools across three countries in Europe to combine traditional storytelling techniques with digital technologies to explore local to global themes.