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Vital North Partnership

Engaging with children and young people

Vital North Partnership

The Vital North Partnership (VNP) between Seven Stories, Newcastle University and the City of Newcastle City Council has been in place since 2015 and, in a unique arrangement, is jointly funded by Arts Council England and Newcastle University. Our vision for the VNP 2020-23 is that it combines world-leading research at Newcastle University and Seven Stories’ unique assets, expertise and creative practice to deliver increased benefits for Seven Stories’ core audiences, with a particular focus on building engagement with children and young people from non-mainstream groups, underpinned by a shared commitment to tackling injustice and building a more equal society.

The VNP’s programme of activity speaks to themes of social inclusion and anti-racism; reading and literacy as an aspect of the health and wellbeing of children and young people; and creative digital innovation including digital interpretations of collections and digital programming/visitor experience. The VNP programme is a key strand in Newcastle upon Tyne’s City of Literature initiative, a consortium of Newcastle-based education and cultural organisations that exists to develop the literary culture of the city and reduce inequality of access to literacy and literature.

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences