Spirit of 2012 unveils plans for youth-focused centenary exhibition in Manchester, the birthplace of the suffrage movement.
The plan, announced on International Women’s Day, is to stage a centenary exhibition celebrating 100 years since some women won the right to vote in the UK.
Called ‘Spirited’, the exhibition will focus on young social activists that were at the heart of the first-wave movement for change, looking at their role in the fight for female suffrage and the ongoing battle for gender equality over the past century.
Spirit Chief Executive Debbie Lye said, “One of our goals for 2018 is to empower, inspire and engage young women and girls to improve their wellbeing, enhance gender equality, and develop social cohesion.”
“These are the criteria behind our current funding of five regional WOW festivals, the Sporting Equality Fund we run with the Scottish Government, and our #iwill match funding.”
““Our exhibition Spirited will be a positive, youth-focused celebration of gender equality, as well as a provocation to people young and old to think about the effects of social activism, and to embrace the opportunities that exist to make change for themselves.”
“We know from our partnerships with Fawcett, Women of the World and the #iwill campaign how engaged and enthusiastic young people are.”
“Our exhibition will draw out similarities as well as differences between contemporary and historical gender activism.”
“We want to show (rather than tell) that making change is possible no matter who you are or where you come from.”
“Spirited will shine a spotlight on the girls and young women whose stories have rarely been told, in order to inspire today’s young people to take their first steps into social action.”
“As with all the projects and events we fund, we aim to create a lasting legacy of improved wellbeing at both an individual and community level by engaging, inspiring and empowering all those who spend time at Spirited.”
Spirit of 2012 is a funding charity, established by the Big Lottery Fund with a £47m endowment from the National Lottery. Spirit was founded to continue and recreate the spirit of pride, positivity and social connectedness that people experienced during the London 2012 Games.
Spirit funds projects that bring people together – to learn something new, do something different, or experience something unique – and that leave behind a social legacy of increased wellbeing at an individual level, as well as happier and more connected communities.
