Nowgen marks NHS 60 with 'Our Kid'

The teenagers with the Cornerhouse team

Nowgen, supported by the Central Manchester and Manchester Children’s University Hospitals NHS Trust, is running Our Kid, a project exploring the impact of Manchester’s healthcare research on children and families. We will be working with young people on filmmaking projects during the summer for an exhibition, which, combined with public events, will raise the profile of healthcare research in Manchester.

As preparation for Our Kid, we are working on a variety of innovative projects with young people. In June, we commissioned Parrswood High School’s Drama Department to run an intensive one-day workshop for a group of Year 8 pupils. They explored healthcare before the founding of the NHS and depicted the impact of Manchester’s major research achievements over the last 60 years on the local community. The students also incorporated their views on the current NHS and their hopes for its future. Their performance at the Trust’s NHS 60 open day was highly praised and the piece will be filmed for display during the Our Kid exhibition.

In partnership with Cornerhouse, we recently ran the Our Kid flagship project – a week long film summer school with teenagers. Eight young people wrote, shot, edited and animated a film about healthcare research in Manchester in the past and looking to the future.

Our Kid will be launched in October and will be a major part of the Manchester Science Festival.