Confidence and Self-belief in Coventry

Earlier this year, we partnered with Coventry City of Culture 2021 to bring our Change the Word programme of poetry, puppetry and performance workshops to 20 locals and refugees. Over three months, the group got together every week to learn new skills, create art and rehearse their incredible performance, which was one of the highlights of our Dome in a Day during Refugee Week.

We asked some of our participants what they got out of it, what changes the programme had made, and here’s what some of them said:

Confidence and Self-belief

“Here you can open up about your feelings without any judgment. Here there are people from all around the world meeting and it actually brings some positivity in you. And in a change of environment, completely different from what you do in your daily life, it is a really good way to connect with more people and connect with yourself.” 

“This has been the most encouraging and welcoming group I have ever attended and really made me feel like I can write.” 

“I enjoy hearing the different voice, different story. For me it was a big thing to write something because it was my first time to do.” 

Community

“Meeting new people was very interesting. Seeing that we are all human beings, we are one species, but we see one thing from different perspectives. It enriches and tells you how the world is beautiful. And observing that one thing can be expressed and viewed by different people in different aspects. That was the most amazing. I am getting inspiration. I am lucky to be part of the group. Now I am transformed into another person.” 

“We are a family, being attached to each other is the most important thing so now we must stay as a family. And we are doing very well. What an amazing group of people.” 

Artistic Development and Creativity

“This has been a reminder that I have an imagination, that I had blocked off for a while, and today now I have it back.”

“The most positive thing about it was that I learned how to be more creative in my mind, how to open up my brain, yes that’s what’s changed me, I think learning to express more.” 

Platform for new voices

“The performance boost our confidence. The audience that I saw is not just the audience I normally see, in the dome, all these people who are not normally there, and now all these people will see and they might think ‘oh I can do like that too’ because their story is up there.”

New Perspectives on Coventry

“About Coventry, I would say is a welcoming city, I found that you don’t have to know each other to do something, when you are together, you can do like you know each other.”