We create spaces for you to share life experiences through our community hub activities, telling stories series and talk about race forum! Our focus is on what unites us rather than divides us, but we also recognise the need for us to give space so that you can talk openly and safely about difficult situations you may have. On this page you will find an overview of each of these events offers. Click on any of the STRIVE Calendar links to see what is happening next.
Being engaged in STRIVE and a student at this university means that you are now part of the Manchester Met community. A community that learns, a community that is supportive and a community that allows you to share experiences.
Manchester Met celebrates its diversity, as well as being part of our community there is also an opportunity to become part of different communities within and beyond your studies.
All students within the STRIVE community are expected to behave in accordance with our STRIVE values
STRIVE HOSTS…. Welcome to STRIVE hosts where we invite the entire university community to engage in forums, story sharing and cultural competence training opportunities. These various events hold space for us to gather from our rich and diverse cultural backgrounds in spaces of empathy, curiosity and kindess.
COMING SOON! Please note, all events will appear on the STRIVE Calendar which will be appearing on the site in December. Please keep checking back for updates.
TELLING STORIES
Here at STRIVE, we believe in the power of lived experience and learning through another’s lens. Through the coming months we will be hosting a the Telling Stories series with wonderful guest speakers from inside and outside the university. Please check the STRIVE Calendar.
LET’S TALK ABOUT RACE FORUMS
These forums are safe spaces for dialogue between you and other members of our STRIVE community, to reflect on racialised experiences during the course and share experiences and learning with your peers and wider STRIVE community members.
These forums will not be recorded to ensure that people can be open and honest in sharing their opinions and views. You will not be forced to turn on their video or audio if they do not wish to, although we very much encourage you to if you can and feel safe in doing so.
The purpose of the Talk about Race forums is to share lived experience, provide some support for each other and for those with responsibilities for your learning and development to better understand your racialised experiences and their impact on you.
Talk about Race forums will be mediated by STRIVE staff who have experience of mediating these spaces and understanding of lived experience.
There are also safe spaces of reflection & dialogue with health and well-being support coaches and Chaplains who are available to STRIVERS who may feel that they need some emotional support following the forums.
Please go to the STRIVE Calendar to find the next Talk about Race Forum.
BECOMING CULTURALLY COMPETENT
The Becoming Culturally Competent workshops are and introduction to exploring culture, and how by better understanding ourselves and others we can build inclusive spaces of belonging and connectivity.
These engaging sessions will provide the opportunity for you to reflect on your own culture and how your lived experience shapes the way you see the world, before exploring what culture is and providing some tools and frameworks to become more culturally competent as you navigate university. Your next workshop will be found on the STRIVE Calendar.
OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT IN OUR COMMUNITY
Community Engagement – Wangari Maathai Woodland
Our STRIVE Leaders (and any other students on STRIVE, should they wish to) will be encouraged to engage in community development activity.
STRIVE Leaders will join Dr Helena Kettleborough, Dr Jonathan Lageard, Department of Natural Sciences, and Friends of Platt Fields Park on a Tree and Wellbeing Map for Platt Fields. STRIVE Leaders will join the team to plant some trees in the Wangari Maathai woodland and walk the trail.
We care about making sure you get the best out of student life and engage with all of the opportunities that are available to you. Our Student Experience Officers share their top tips to help you achieve this: Top Tips for Engaging with Student Life.
To access further resources on Community, click the link (you will not be able access this content until you have your Manchester Met ID and Password): Community – Moodle.
CREATIVE CONNECTIONS
Our STRIVE leaders will be creating opportunities to collaborate on a create artifact. Keep your eye out for events on our STRIVE Calendar.
CONNECT HUB
Connect hub is a connected community within a social space. It is run by friend and STRIVE mentor, Yolande Zulu. It runs every week during term-time and includes activities like Games Nights, painting, ‘chat and chill’. The events foster a sense of community and are open to students beyond the STRIVE programme. Go to the STRIVE Calendar to find your next Connect Hub Session.
