Gladstone Library successfully secures funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund
Gladstone Library in Hawarden North Wales has been awarded £126,729 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a project to help young people engage with history.
The project will empower young people (aged 16-24) to explore and discuss universal Gladstonian themes, including religious tolerance, human rights and democracy, and challenge historical and contemporary topics such as slavery, colonialism, and minority rights.
The funding will enable Gladstone Library to develop and deliver a series of pilot workshops and engagement activities tailor-made for groups, including secondary school pupils, students and youth club members.
The focus will be on learning new things, engaging with history and heritage that is still relevant to current affairs and practising how to have respectful and challenging conversations to develop and enrich learning.
The groups will also learn about the Gladstone Library and William Gladstone – and how his views developed and changed during his lifetime, and will be invited to view the Library's collections, including historical books and archive material.
The Reverend Dr Andrea Russell, Warden of Gladstone Library, said: "We are delighted to receive support from the Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, to facilitate a new set of learning and engagement activities for 16-24 year olds.
"We want to expand the library's reach and use our unique collections as a starting point for conversations and learning by working with local schools, groups and youth organisations.
"It is our hope that linking the workshops to current issues and concerns will lead to a change in ideas and to positive action. We are very grateful to the Heritage Fund for supporting our ambition to work with young people, and we are also extremely grateful for the continued commitment and enthusiasm of our visitors, friends and current donors.
"Their support is vital to our continued success and to any future developments, for example, a very generous bequest helped us secure funding of this project from the Heritage Fund.
"Gladstone Library is a truly unique place to immerse ourselves in the wonders of quiet learning, research and study, which is something we are deeply committed to."
With support of £126,729 from the Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, the project at Gladstone Library will run for around 18 months. The Library will also undertake a series of feasibility studies working with architects, conservation officers, archivists, and suitable business and heritage consultants.
The feedback, results and evaluation of this project and feasibility studies will help inform how the Library will evolve over the next five to ten years.