Cheshire SECONDARY Schools Media Challenge

Cheshire, Halton and Warrington are inclusive areas and a safe places to live or work and we want to encourage everyone to keep it this way.  However, some people can be unkind or uncaring, behaving in a way most of us wouldn’t accept by attacking or verbally abusing others, because of their identity or the way they live their life.

Hate Crime

These attacks are known as hate incidents or hate crimes and Cheshire Police would like your help to reduce these incidents across the county which will help to strengthen our communities.

Things such as showing hostility, prejudice or abusing people because of the colour of their skin, their ethnicity or race.  As well as abuse because of a disability or mental health issues or because of a person’s age, their religion, their gender or their sexual orientation. Unfortunately, some of these incidents cause fear, misunderstanding, and emotional or physical harm.

A hate incident is anything that the victim feels is motivated by hostility or prejudice towards any aspect of their identity.  These hate incidents can escalate into crimes or cause tension in a community.

Cheshire Police and the Crime Commissioner of Cheshire would like to hear your views. We’d like you to imagine you’re an influential YouTuber or Podcaster, and we want you to make a short podcast or video to spread the word to other young people, just like you, about why it’s OK to be different and how we can actually celebrate our differences or the diversity in your areas.

The Script

When you’re writing the script for your podcast or video, think about the impact of hate crime on people and communities, and the support that’s available in your area.  Perhaps you want to focus on how social media influences our tolerance and understanding?  Or maybe you’d like to explore the difference between asylum seekers, refugees and economic migrants.  Maybe you’ve got personal experience of such incidents.  It’s completely up to you.

There are lots of helpful videos and other resources here on the website to make sure you’ve got all the facts.  You’ll also find links to some other really useful websites too.

You don’t need a load of specialist equipment; in fact, you can make a really good video or podcast on your phone, laptop or tablet – it’s the script that’s important.  Take time to make sure you include all the important information and that you’ve got a brilliant, creative idea to make it interesting to the people who will see or hear it.

The Deadline

Your podcast or video needs to create a positive message to encourage a greater understanding of our diverse society.  It should be about one-minute duration and you need to send it to us by Thursday 25th November at the latest.

There are lots of other schools across Cheshire taking part in this project.  Thanks to funding from Crimebeat and Cheshire Crime Commissioner it’s free to take part, and the best entries will be shared online and invited to a celebration event.

So, what are you waiting for?  Get creative, have fun and we look forward to seeing your videos or hearing your podcasts soon.