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BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility

  • Keeping up with the Year-7s

    Chris Gray

    Broadcast Journalist, BBC News channel

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    On the eve of BBC School Report News Day, Chris Gray from the BBC News channel describes the preparation he’s done with St Thomas’ School.

    ‘Their knowledge of editing software and camera shots was very impressive’

    I was attracted to BBC School Report having worked with young people before, and I was keen to do it again. I would’ve jumped at the chance to do something similar when I was at school, aged 11 and interested in journalism.

    On this project, I have been working with St Thomas’ School in south London, with some Year-7 pupils to help develop their story.

    They were researching how different people learn and how teaching must adapt to those different types of learners, whether they are audio, visual or kinaesthetic learners.

    The students I met conducted a study with the rest of the year group, analysed the results and will be following up their results with interviews with people in the school who focus on types of learning.

    At the BBC, I am a Broadcast Journalist on the BBC News channel. I work in the heart of the newsroom at New Broadcasting House as well as on location, working on many stories that develop throughout the day. The role can take you from political outside…

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  • Reporting for duty

    Margaret Burgin

    Senior Schools Outreach Manager, BBC Outreach

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    The BBC’s new senior schools outreach manager, Margaret Burgin, sets out her vision for BBC staff and young people working together on School Report News Day and beyond.

    ‘I ionately believe that we need to listen to the voices of our younger audiences so that we have an audience in the future’

    I am always struck by the fresh ideas and sheer energy young people bring to the news agenda. 

    It all started for me in local radio at BBC Radio Sheffield where we hosted a “radio station” for the Sheffield Children’s Festival which featured young people who produced and presented their own programmes. 

    There were lighter features, too - a satirical soap called Jarvis Cocker Street and a precursor to something like The Apprentice where the regular presenters at BBC Radio Sheffield were fired one by one. This project thrived, and we even did an exchange with South African schools for the Africa Season in 2004.

    When News Action decided to pilot the schools project which eventually became School Report they invited me to an ideas day with other BBC staff with experience of working with schools – a really exciting day with like-minded colleagues.

    S…

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  • Lesson for the teacher

    Delia Lloyd

    Head of Policy and Research Insight, BBC Media Action

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    Delia Lloyd describes how an unforeseen event during a storytelling workshop became the lesson itself.

    ‘This woman did so much more for our storytelling session than a thousand more examples could have done’

    I’ve taught classes and run workshops for much of my adult life, so in some ways I shouldn’t have been surprised by what happened during a storytelling workshop with BBC Outreach recently. Still, it was a helpful reminder of that age-old adage - “the best laid schemes of mice and men” – that even the most carefully prepared plans can go wrong.

    The workshop was for Migrant Voice, a London-based charity that works to strengthen the voice, participation and representation of migrants in the media. I was there with a colleague to deliver a day-long workshop entitled “Communication for Change,” which provided participants with a series of storytelling tools that can be used to create change.

    We both work for BBC Media Action, the BBC’s international development charity - which uses media and communication to foster good governance, health lives and resilient communities in the world’s most fragile settings. So this seemed like a fairly straightforward assignment.

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  • Bransholme at 50

    Helen Amess

    Outreach Manager, BBC North

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    Helen Amess has been working with the team at BBC Look North and BBC Radio Humberside to launch an outreach project to celebrate a housing estate on the outskirts of Hull as it celebrates its 50th birthday.

    ‘Every single person was unfailing in their pride about living on Bransholme’

    It’s a story which has been repeated in so many of the UK’s cities - World War II left a large swathe of Hull’s centre destroyed by bombing and the condition of the remaining housing meant much of it was uninhabitable.

    So it was decided to create a new estate on the edge of city where there would be modern…

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  • The coolest people in some of the coolest roles

    Diane Reid

    Head of Outreach & Corporate Responsibility

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    Diane Reid, Head of BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility, sums up a year of of innovative and diverse outreach projects and says a big ‘thank you‘ to BBC volunteers

    Audiences are at the heart of everything we do

    “There is nothing like face to face interaction with the audience.” These are the words of Radio 1Xtra Producer Hermeet Chadha who worked with young people from Hackney on the design of a radio debate about what it means to be Black and British.

    Hermeet was one of hundreds of BBC staff who volunteered to work on Outreach projects in 2016. The projects they worked on were exciting…

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  • Olivia Lockyer - the big issue of induction

    Olivia Lockyer

    Digital Content & Partnerships, BBC Make it Digital

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    Olivia Lockyer volunteered with BBC Outreach to help Big Issue North produce an induction film for vendors.

    'It was fantastic to be able to experience and learn new skills'

    I felt lucky to work with the BBC Outreach team on a project with Big Issue North. We were helping the magazine by making a film for new vendors and office staff to illustrate what it takes to be a vendor and how to operate on the pitch.

    This included planning the storyboard for the film, directing the shoot and then editing the film. We also ran a workshop about making content for online and social media to help the Big…

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  • Elaina Boateng - reaching full potential

    Elaina Boateng

    Production Co-ordinator, BBC Factual

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    Elaina Boateng shared her own career journey as she co-hosted an evening to inspire young people from Hackney looking for their big breaks in the world of work.

    ‘This BBC outreach project taught me the importance of diverse recruitment’

    BBC Outreach’s event is one of the most rewarding and entertaining I have been a part of since I began my career at the BBC, three years ago.

    I have always been ionate about helping young people reach their full potential. As a graduate of Mama Youth Project, a charity that helps BAME 18s-25s get into the media industry, I have seen the impact the charity…

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  • Where the journey starts

    Josie Verghese

    Senior Broadcast Journalist, BBC School Report

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    Josie Verghese works in secondary schools with young people and teachers - preparing them BBC News School Report, for The Pitch and the project's annual News Day. She is encouraging more BBC staff from across divisions to volunteer their skills.

    'We all have transferable skills to bring to School Report volunteering, and that's an important message for the young people, too'

    The best bit of my job is going in to schools and working with young people - they never fail to surprise me and I really value stepping out of the BBC bubble and meeting our audiences.

    My visits are to find out what they…

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  • Young voices on air

    Kalpana Boodhoo

    Broadcast Journalist, BBC Hereford & Worcester

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    Kalpana Boodhoo always knew she wanted to be a radio journalist. Now she's helping to inspire teenagers into a career in broadcasting.

    'I want to inspire the younger generation, and make them realise that a career in journalism is very much achievable'

    I have been a Broadcast Journalist for the last 13 years and 2017 will be my fourth year as a BBC School Report Mentor. As part of my day-to-day job at BBC Hereford and Worcester, I read the news, produce programmes and report on the biggest stories in our region.

    When I was at school, I knew I wanted to work in radio, but I had absolutely no…

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  • Talking music

    Sharon Mair

    Station Manager, BBC Radio Scotland Music Extra

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    BBC Radio Scotland Music Extra was a pop-up digital station showcasing the diversity of Scottish music and artists leading up to St Andrew’s Day 2016. Station manager Sharon Mair ensured audiences were at the heart of its plans.

    ‘This relationship with the audience is really honest and a privilege to have – I hope it will shape whatever we do in the future’

    Nine weeks before the pop-up station launched, we invited in about 40 audience from different generations and backgrounds with one thing in common – they all loved music.

    Through BBC Outreach, we worked…

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