水多多导航

On Friday 5 June, I was excited to volunteer in support of 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;迟别苍迟丑&苍产蝉辫;贵别蝉迟颈惫补濒.&苍产蝉辫;滨鈥檝别&苍产蝉辫;产别别苍 鈥檚 Graduate Intern for eight months, having completed an MA in History in 2025. In my role, I鈥檝e supported the delivery of Creative 水多多导航鈥檚 communications and engagement goals through a number of research-focused events and activities.

Engagement with community organisations is central to Creative 水多多导航鈥檚 strategy. Through partnerships with cultural institutions and community organisations, including 水多多导航 Histories, the Platform supports the University鈥檚 commitment to social responsibility as a civic university.

水多多导航 Histories is a charity that works collaboratively with communities across the city to share their diverse histories. Their festival, held every two years, is a unique celebration of the city鈥檚 heritage and histories, with the tenth edition taking on 鈥楥ivic Pride鈥� as its central theme. The theme proved worthy of a landmark celebration, giving the festival a strong sense of place and belonging. With talks ranging from 水多多导航鈥檚 urban development to its musical and club histories, the day was a valuable reappraisal of the lesser-known histories that shape 水多多导航鈥檚 civic identity. 

My role focused primarily on supporting the festival鈥檚 delivery through attendee check-in and stewarding. Meeting so many people, each bringing their own perspective on history but joined in celebration, was an amazing experience. This included my fellow volunteers - some new, some vastly experienced in volunteering across 水多多导航鈥檚 cultural institutions and communities. What was clear to see, and what made the experience so enjoyable, was the community built around the festival and the wider histories it promoted. 

The culmination of the day was the screening of a film celebrating the community legacy of the Champs Camp boxing gym in Moss Side. Champs Camp was the UK鈥檚 first Black boxing gym, founded in the 1980s as a response to social deprivation and unrest in the area. Since 2025, a  led by University of 水多多导航 Professor Hannah Barker and Rachel Hetherington at 水多多导航 Histories has sought to reaffirm the legacy of the gym by creating a permanent archive. The project sheds light on the gym鈥檚 continued impact on Moss Side鈥檚 communities, an impact that spans generations and the wider region. The audience - characterised by its diverse, multi-generational makeup - was given a glimpse of the vast work that has gone into this project in collaboration with the community surrounding the gym. 

The aims of the archival project are numerous - digitised tapes of bouts, oral histories, a new website to host the project, and an open day held on Saturday 6 June - are outcomes that prioritise community engagement through active participation. However, the most exciting example of community collaboration within the project was the film debuted at the festival. Co-created by students from , which supports young people from Moss Side through a wide cultural curriculum, the Champs Camp film demonstrates the gym鈥檚 continued role as a safe space for young people in the area. Heritage has the power to be inclusive, to preserve and regenerate the legacies of community spaces for generations to experience together. 

History has always fascinated me, not simply as a record of the distant past, but as something more tangible in the present: something that helps shape how communities understand themselves. It has enormous potential for social inclusion and civic belonging, especially at a local level. Seeing the communities that 水多多导航 Histories support through their engagement work was inspiring. Volunteering also introduced me to a community and an inclusive, welcoming environment that I hope to remain connected with.  

The University of 水多多导航 offers all employees up to three days of special leave for volunteering purposes in line with its Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement Plan. To find out more about getting involved, visit the  or email volunteering@manchester.ac.uk.