This project will address the issue of under-representation of cultural difference in the British secondary school Drama curriculum by creating an open-access educational website of video resources to engage secondary school children with foreign-language plays. By targeting young Drama students and their teachers we will train future theatre-makers and audiences to appreciate stories from diverse contexts and empathise with culturally distant others. About 22% of the UK population in 2015 was either born abroad or a foreign citizen, however only about 3.8% of plays in British theatres every year are originally written in a language other than English and the British secondary school Drama curriculum does little to include non-English/non-British material for students to engage with linguistic and cultural diversity through theatre. This alarming representation gap must be addressed and supporting teachers in choosing plays in translation would be an effective way to change the status quo. Reducing the representation gap between curriculum requirements, students' cultural backgrounds and availability of teaching resources is even more pressing when we think about international/British schools overseas offering CGSEs, A-Levels, BTEC and IB qualifications in Drama to a multicultural, multilingual and multiracial student body. From my extensive consultation period with over twenty teachers working in the UK and overseas, I have concluded that there is a clear intellectual and academic gap, and an urgent ethical call, to expand education resources in this area to foster dialogue on cultural and linguistic difference in English-speaking schools offering Drama both as an assessed subject and/or as an enrichment activity. The project builds on the research and expertise acquired through my award-winning AHRC Leadership Fellowship - entitled 'Translation, Adaptation, Otherness: "Foreignisation" in Theatre Practice' - focusing on the representation of cultural and linguistic difference in theatre translation. Investigating the reasons behind the disappointing number of translations in British theatre repertoires, the PI identified secondary school Drama education as a potential area of impact to foster more engagement with, and representation of, cultural and linguistic difference on English-speaking stages in the future. Increasing representation of non-English languages and culture on English-speaking stages is of paramount importance to foster understanding among communities in multicultural societies, such as the UK, but also in the US, where translations of foreign-language texts tend to be rare and immigration high. Included in the website will be newly commissioned filmed extracts of five plays in the original language and two English translations, in order to highlight how translation strategies can have an impact on the production. The videos will be entirely new and curated for the project, featuring a professional cast. We will also produce and include on the website: film interviews with key practitioners working in the field; extensive contextualisations of the plays by academics and theatre-makers; and teaching resources clarifying how to integrate the resource into the GCSE, A-Level, BTEC and IB curricula. Collaborating with far-reaching theatre organisations such as the Gate, London, which has been keen a champion of theatre translation, and the Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury, a venue which focuses on young people, the project will create accessible educational resources for pupils to engage with foreign-language plays i as investigated in the PI's Fellowship project. The Project's Advisory Board includes five Heads of Drama working in secondary schools in England and theatre managers from the Gate, the Gulbenkian and the Royal Court Theatre. We will employ experienced academics and teachers to deliver the resources. These resources will encourage long-term mind shifts and internationalisation.

Outline Young people in coastal communities are at the front line of climate change but are underserved with the cultural and science capital needed to mobilise them towards climate action. Through creative practice workshops taking place in site-specific locations, the 'Unfiltered Coast' project will empower young people in these hard-to-reach communities. It will engage them with the effects of climate change, encourage them to consider their place in and influence on the evolving environment, and inspire them to engage in research that will help communicate and tackle climate change issues. 'Unfiltered Coast' will use the vast Kent coastline as a pilot, building towards national engagement as part of the project's legacy. Research Given the multi-disciplinary team, the project connects to various strands of research across the Arts and Humanities and Natural Sciences. This includes: 1) Representational strategies (audio-visual and literary) that support, strengthen or subvert understandings of places, including the inseparability of humans and their environs 2) Arts-led environmental activism, especially that which centres around blue and green space 3) Best practice community-engaged research that engages underserved audiences 4) Sustainable materials science, agriculture and energy research towards a circular economy Aims 1) to encourage a connection between young people and their coastal locations, promoting a sense of responsibility towards its environs and ecology 2) to fuel an interest in climate research, inspiring young people via a range of methods that includes creative practice 3) to facilitate young people in their exploration and communication of climate challenges 4) to motivate young people to continue arts-led climate activism Activities The project's activity centres on two creative practice 'walkshops' taking place along the Kent coast. These will be co-designed with a newly established youth-led Climate Change Working Group in the first month of the project. Self-audits will occur before and after the 'walkshops' as part of the engagement activity and our evaluation methods. Creative outputs emerging from the 'walkshops' will feed into an end-of-project exhibition to coincide with COP26. This will take place in a Ramsgate venue and tour to our partner organisation's venue in Canterbury. There will also be an end-of-project forum for the participating young people to engage with local policymakers. Data collected and the repository of outputs will be collated as a digital repository that will allow youth communities in other coastal parts of the UK to engage with and add to the data. Target Audience and Project Partner The project will involve young people aged 14-18 who live in coastal areas in Kent. As evidenced in the plan document, these coastal areas are especially vulnerable to climate change and related environmental factors as well as the resulting socio-economic implications. Coastal areas in Kent have a high number of young people considered hard to reach, with low cultural and science capital, poor access to higher education and limited opportunities to engage with climate action. We will reach these audiences via already existing youth networks, such as ART31, which is facilitated by our Project Partner - the Gulbenkian. A youth-led working group will be established early on in the project to ensure a bottom-up approach to the project throughout its timeline. Outcomes and Potential Impact The activity will serve to increase the sense of responsibility felt by young people to their coastal environs. It will increase confidence in the participants to take part in climate conversations. It will develop unique opportunities for young people to engage in art-led climate activism. It will bridge the gap between young people and researchers, aiming to break down preconceived notions about academic work. It has the potential to raise public awareness and influence policy.