Bringing together voices from across education, culture and youth leadership, the symposium explored a vital question: how do we develop a creative curriculum - and a cultural education sector - where every young person feels they belong?
.jpg)
The evening began with a welcome from Professor John McAuliffe, Professor of Poetry at the University of Manchester and Director of Creative Manchester, alongside Binish Syed Qureshi, MADE’s Young Trustee and Creative Influencer. Their welcome set the tone for an event rooted in collaboration, representation and the importance of ensuring young people are at the heart of conversations about Manchester’s creative future.
A powerful reminder of why this work matters came through the opening performance by students from Chorlton High School. Introduced by Lizi Ransome, Head of Drama at Chorlton High School and MADE Trustee, the students presented a moving piece exploring belonging in Manchester.
Through spoken word, drama and choreographed movement, the performance brought together poignant historical narratives with the personal stories, experiences and backgrounds of the young people onstage. It celebrated the many identities and journeys that make up Manchester, creating a moment that left the audience in awe and reflection. The performance was a powerful reminder of the role creativity can play in helping young people understand themselves, their communities and their connection to place.
The focus on young people continued through a presentation on MADE’s Creative Leadership Programme, introduced by MADE Director Jo Sliwa and presented by Creative Leaders 2025/26, Claudia and Aliae.
The programme was created to support young people in Manchester to build confidence, wellbeing and future opportunities through creativity, while helping develop a new generation of cultural leaders who reflect the diversity of the city. As Jo explained, Manchester is an enormously diverse city, and the ambition is for future cultural leadership to reflect the communities it serves.
The programme began as a pilot with 10 students from five schools and has grown through support from Arts Council England and Manchester City Council. Its aim has always been to help young people understand what opportunities exist within Manchester’s cultural landscape and, importantly, to know that these spaces are for them too.
For Claudia and Aliae, the impact of the programme was personal. They spoke about finding connection, purpose and friendship with other young people who shared a passion for creativity despite coming from different backgrounds. The programme created opportunities to explore cultural spaces, meet creative professionals and develop a greater understanding of leadership.
They reflected on how the experience helped them grow in confidence, from travelling independently across Manchester to entering creative spaces they may not previously have felt comfortable accessing. They described being guided and supported while also having the freedom to explore their own strengths and discover what leadership meant to them.
Their experiences highlighted something simple but significant: access begins with feeling invited. As the programme explored, young people need to know that cultural spaces are not just places they can visit – they are spaces where they belong.
The symposium then widened the conversation to consider the changing landscape of arts education through national, regional and local perspectives.
Sally Bacon OBE, Co-Chair of the Cultural Learning Alliance, shared the national perspective, highlighting the evidence behind the value of arts education. She spoke about the capabilities developed through arts subjects, including belonging, agency, wellbeing, collaboration, communication, empathy, creativity and critical thinking. These capabilities support young people as individuals while also developing the skills needed for a changing world.
Derri Burdon, CEO of Curious Minds and Co-Chair of the Cultural Learning Alliance, reflected on the importance of young people connecting with their local cultural offer and how this contributes to identity and belonging. She highlighted the opportunity for Greater Manchester’s cultural education sector to work collectively, strengthening pathways into creativity and the creative industries.
From a school perspective, Zoe Morris, Executive Headteacher at Prospere Learning Trust, emphasised that belonging cannot be created by one organisation or sector alone. Schools, cultural organisations, universities, employers, local authorities and communities all have a role to play. She called for stronger networks and relationships, moving from individual projects towards genuine co-construction.
Following the presentations, attendees took part in round table discussions exploring how MADE can continue to support young people’s belonging, access to culture, youth voice, partnerships between schools and cultural organisations, and the changing curriculum landscape.
The conversations resulted in a collaborative action plan, including creating physical spaces where young people and practitioners can come together, establishing youth voice panels, advocating for the value of cultural education, improving access to cultural opportunities, supporting stronger connections between schools and cultural organisations, and helping schools navigate the enrichment offer available across Manchester.
The MADE Symposium 2026 demonstrated the power of bringing people together around a shared belief: creativity and culture are essential to young people’s sense of identity, belonging and possibility. By listening to young people, valuing their experiences and building stronger connections across sectors, Manchester can continue to create a cultural future where every young person feels they have a place.
As part of the event, we had some of our Creative Leaders capturing different moments, including illustrative notes which you can see below. These were captured by Fifi (first image) and Alana (second and third images). All the photographs you can see in this blog were taken by our Creative Leader photographer, Tilly.
We would like to say a massive thank you to Manchester City Council for supporting this event and to Manchester Central Library for hosting us. Also, we would like to say a big thank you to all of our speakers, young people, performers, Trustees and everyone that attended the event.
