Aim: To bring together students who are members of Sussex Writes (SW) at the University of Sussex, Brighton, with members of The Youth Café (TYC), Africa, to discuss the current global crisis of Covid-19 and its impacts on learning, mental health, use of technology and (dis)information, civic spaces and participation, safety issues, and the immediate future of the economy.
During the event series, we will be facilitating an exchange of experience, problems, ideas and youth-led solutions to the Covid crisis now and in the immediate future. The event will reach a Youth Café network of 50 000 members, which is a Pan-African network that includes (but is not limited to) Cameroon, Gambia, South Africa and Kenya. The Youth Café’s mission is to model and advance youth-led approaches towards sustainable development, social equity, democratic governance, and economic viability practices by utilizing innovative research, policy, and advocacy actions. See more at
Sussex Writes gives students a space to explore their talents and create creative writing communities, with the aim of sharing a love of literacy and creativity, with the ultimate aim of widening participation in further and higher education. Widening participation encourages young people from non-traditional backgrounds to explore higher education and supports students to succeed in their studies and thrive during their time at university, and helps students to progress after university.
Outcomes: To produce a minimum of two blog posts about the event series; to increase the Youth Café network to include 50 more UK-based members; to produce a statement on learning from young people about what they need to succeed in a changed education environment; to produce a statement on youth-led solutions to immediate economic impacts of Covid-19; the latter will particularly feed into lessons learned for further and higher education institutions.
Lockdown Live Event series
Facebook Live discussion with partners at the Youth Cafe in Kenya and a team of Undergraduate and Postgraduate students at Sussex who take part in Sussex Writes.
Each event in the series will involve a preliminary planning event each Monday, in which young people (‘panellists’) come together to get to know each other; practise using the technology; brief each other; establish key areas of concern and aims under that topic. Although there is a broad theme to each week and suggested areas to discuss, youth panellists will decide the specific areas they wish to focus on. Those taking part will prepare questions, statements and ideas on each topic. This will establish a sense of belonging and clear roles and develop a routine or format with certain norms and values.
Each Friday, a live event will be streamed over Facebook to an audience across the Youth Café network which numbers around 50 000 and beyond. This is a student-led and student-moderated discussion series.
Event One: Learning in lock down. This event will have a focus on what challenges people have faced studying in lockdown, and what ideas they have for teachers/lecturers and students managing in and with a changed education system. How people in different countries (including urban and rural areas) are coping with academics; learning from home; the impact of differing access to technology; ways to resolve barriers to learning in isolation / remotely.
This will become a useful resource for educators around the world.
Event Two: Mental health. Including Google, Twitter, Facebook – how it has impacted young people – communication and knowledge/misinformation and mental health.
Event Three: Digital (mis)information (date TBC)
Event Four: Post-covid futures - likely with a jobs/economy focus (date TBC)
Key team leadership contacts