Today 12th August 2021, Moving for Change has awarded almost £100,000 in funding to six projects which aim to improve quality of life for nomadic Gypsies and Travellers and the communities in which they live across the UK, as part of the National Lottery funded Roadside Futures project.
The Moving for Change funding is going to a range of projects, including supporting:
- Researchers to gather evidence from people living roadside on their views about the proposed changes to trespass laws in England and Wales,
- Filmmakers to document Romany, Traveller and nomadic people’s resistance against new anti-trespass laws, as part of the Drive2Survive campaign, and;
- Young people from North Yorkshire to learn about research skills and to develop a research project on an issue important to them.
One of the groups receiving funding is Article 12 in Scotland. They will spend £54,428 to develop a pilot project supporting young people shifting and living roadside in North-East Scotland and the Scottish Highlands. The three-year project will focus on supporting young people to address gaps in their education and work experience. The project aims to improve educational and employment opportunities for up to 60 young people. Leslie Drury, one of Article 12’s National Co-ordinators welcomed the grant saying:
“We are delighted to have this opportunity provided by Moving for Change. Article 12 in Scotland has over a decade of experience supporting young Gypsy/Travellers and we are incredibly excited to have the chance to expand our work to more young people living roadside. We look forward to seeing the wonderful impact and reach of this project, as we help build positive futures with the young people in our programme.”
Celebrated author Richard O’Neill received £4,922 from Moving for Change for his School for Nomads project. The funding will enable Richard O’Neill to work with young Gypsies and Travellers living roadside to create a book that reflects the lived experience of young Gypsy and Traveller students, and that can be used as an advocacy tool within schools and broader society. Richard O’Neill explained what the grant would mean:
“As someone who experienced a disrupted education because of my nomadic culture it is vitally important that almost a half a century on that today’s Gypsy and Traveller young people don’t experience the same and that educators have the tools to help them fulfil their educational potential.”
Alongside this, anthropologist Freya Hope received £5000 for the creation of an exhibition exploring who New Travellers are and how the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill will affect their lifestyle and culture. The exhibition will be showcased online for a total of six months, with the potential to be shown by grassroots groups, charities and at festivals or workshops in the future. Responding to the news, Freya told us:
“I am very grateful to Moving for Change for this grant, as it will enable me to increase public knowledge about New Traveller culture through the accessible format of a virtual exhibition. It will also allow me to record mobile New Travellers’ experiences and concerns regarding the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill, for inclusion in the exhibition.”
John Knights, Senior Portfolio Manager for UK Funding at The National Lottery Community Fund, offered congratulations and encouragement to all six projects saying:
“It’s great to see that thanks to National Lottery players, Roadside Futures is supporting more projects to help improve the lives of roadside Gypsies and Travellers and empower people and communities to positively engage with the systems and institutions which affect them.”
Moving for Changes’ community-focussed ‘Roadside Futures’ project is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. It aims to support and encourage collaboration between individuals and organisations in the UK who share a common purpose to improve the lives of nomadic Gypsy and Traveller people. The successful projects were chosen by an independent Commissioning Panel drawn from members of Moving for Change’s Network.
Members of the Moving for Change Network receive invites to apply for funding / commissioning opportunities through Moving for Change, have the chance to join steering groups which oversee parts of the work of Moving for Change, have first access to up-to-date research findings from the work of Moving for Change and are invited to take part in training and capacity building activities.
To find information on joining the Moving for Change Network, visit https://www.movingforchange.org.uk/get-involved/ or call 07873 904 738.
About The National Lottery Community Fund
We are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – we’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. National Lottery players raise £36 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £43 billion has been raised for good causes which has supported over 635,000 projects, benefiting millions of people – that’s 255 projects per postcode area.
We are passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference to people’s lives. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.
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