What’s on in York: City Kick About
What’s on in York; ‘Cops vs Kids’ Esports pilot in York
York-based Digital PCSO Chris Simpson has been working on a new project during the past few months to help improve police engagement with children and young people in his patch.
Chris’s idea – called ‘Cops vs Kids’ – is to use Esports to build positive bridges with the youngsters, as well as seeking support from their parents and guardians.
He has teamed up with British Esports Association (BEA) and City of York Council’s Youth Justice Service to launch the initiative throughout August.
It will run at the Moor Lane Youth Centre on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays between 12noon and 2pm. All the places have now been filled.
The pilot covers a variety of sessions such as casual gaming, skills workshops, careers awareness and building a safe place for young people.
At the end there will be a ‘Cops vs Kids’ fun competitive gaming session, with the police playing on a team against young people in the area.
BEA is providing kit and guidance throughout the pilot and will produce a case study from the findings.
Chris said: “Esports can help break down barriers within our harder to reach communities where there is an inherent mistrust of the police, hopefully leading to a mutual respect.
“The event will also help to develop engagement opportunities with parents and guardians within local communities, both online and in the physical world.
“During the gaming sessions we will not only engage with young people, but also use it as a tool to help educate them around online safety, crime and anti-social behaviour.
“Ultimately, we want to show them that underneath the uniforms and despite the age differences, the police are human too. We share many similar interests, with gaming being a very popular common ground.”
Cllr Ian Cuthbertson, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education at City of York Council, said: “I’m pleased to welcome this activity for young people who are already working with our Youth Justice Service. It’s really important that officers who can help them are accessible and trusted. Having fun while gaming sounds a great way to build relationships while supporting the young people to make positive change in both their outlook and behaviour.”
Alice Leaman, the BEA’s Schools and Colleges Liaison Officer, said: “The pilot with North Yorkshire Police is a really exciting opportunity to understand how esports and gaming can help break barriers and engage all members of the community.”
- For more information about ‘Cops vs Kids Esports’ or to arrange an interview, please email chris.simpson@northyorkshire.police.uk or call 07741 175747.
What’s on in York: Archaeology LIVE at Acomb Explore Library on Saturday
What’s on in York; School holiday events with football stars
What’s on in York: Operation Hummingbird
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What’s on in York: Wild World Heroes: Summer Reading Challenge 2021
Explore York Libraries and Archives and The Reading Agency have teamed up with theWorld Wildlife Fund to keep children reading over the summer, while challenging them to help save the planet. By taking part in the Challenge for free in Explore Libraries or online, children can join six fictional characters – ‘wild heroes’ – to help solve some of the threats to our natural world, and learn about the importance of the environment while helping to restore nature in ‘Wilderville’.
How to sign up
The Challenge starts on Saturday 17 July and runs until Saturday 11 September 2021.
You can sign up in any Explore York Library, but we are not running the challenge in our cafes or at the Community Stadium this year.
You can find a lot more Reading Challenge activities and sign up to do the challenge online if you prefer this option on the Summer Reading Challenge website
Books you can use for the challenge
You can borrow books from your local library to read, or you can use our e-book or e-audiobook service.
Illustrations © Heath McKenzie 2021
Summer Reading Challenge Activities
From July 5 onwards you will be able to book for our in person socially distanced events. As well as in person events we have activities for you to watch and download. They launch at the date and time next to the event and are available all summer.
You can book our in person events for children online or at a library.
Numbers for events in libraries will be very limited. If you book a ticket and then cannot come please make sure you cancel your ticket so someone else can come instead.
You can find online activities through our children’s activity link.
| Saturday 24 July | 10am | Liz Foster’s Wild World Heroes activity sheets. |
| Saturday 24 July | 10am | Robin Simpson’s Online Nature Stories and Activities. Come dressed as an animal if you wish. |
| Monday 26 July | 10am | Ted Schofield’s Online Picture Adventure Story Workshop. Have a piece of A3 paper, papers for practicing, pencils, crayons and a ruler ready to do the session. |
| Monday 2 August | 10am | John Kirk’s Story Treasure Hunt 1 |
| Monday 2 August | 10am | John Kirk’s Story Treasure Hunt 2 |
| Wednesday 4 August | 10.30 am and 2pm | Theatre of Science’s Summer Extravaganza Science Meditation Session (live) |
| Wednesday 11 August | 10am | Theatre of Science’s Summer Extravaganza: Science Meditation Session (recording) |
Arts Award Discover is a nationally recognised introductory award aimed at 5 to 9 year olds (although any child can take part.) Explore York Libraries and Archives, York Art Gallery, York Army Museum and All Saints, North Street are offering children the opportunity to gain Arts Award Discover through taking part in any three of our in person or online activities, finding out about an artist or crafts person and telling us about these at a Big Share Event.
Download a record sheet to note down what you have done or just collect all you have made and come to a Big Share Event anytime between 1 pm and 4 pm on Wednesday 1st September in the Marriott Room at York Explore Library or between 1 pm and 3 pm on Sunday 5th September in the Sensory Garden at the rear of York Art Gallery. After talking to you we will apply for an Arts Award certificate for you which will be posted to your home.
Thanks to funding from York Army Museum we can offer these certificates free of charge.
What’s on in York: NHS BIG TEA charity fundraiser Friday 9th July
What’s on in York: Virtualising the Archive
Tuesday, 15th June 2021
19:30 – 20:30
On Line (click to register)
Dusty, dry, secretive, academic, mysterious, impenetrable – mainstream media often portrays archives (and archivists!) in these terms. This is despite the continuing efforts of the profession to ensure collections are open and accessible to all.
Explore York Libraries and Archives have partnered with Bright White Ltd, an innovator in digital storytelling, to slay the ˜dusty archives” dragon once and for all. Together, they are developing the prototype for the Explore Archives Storytelling Tool (EAST), which will allow the archives to be explored in new interactive ways.
Bright White’s creative developers Chris Walker and Andy Nye, along with Explore’s Civic Archivist Julie-Ann Vickers, will talk about the idea behind the new tool and their journey in developing the prototype.
As part of the event, you’ll also have the opportunity to participate in a demonstration of this next-generation archives experience for the first time in its development.
About the speakers:
Chris Walker is a Founding Director of the multi-award-winning design consultancy Bright White Ltd. Working predominantly in the museums and heritage sector, the company creates and implements innovative uses of technology in museum interpretation.
Andy Nye has spent 20 years in digital and has a proven track-record of concept creation, design and implementation. Since 2013 immersive technology has been a key part of his work. He has appeared on panels at shows such as the Wearable Technology Show and H+K’s influencer event, spoken at TEDx York and regularly hosts workshops on new technology.
Dr Julie-Ann Vickers is an archivist at Explore York Libraries and Archives. She has worked in local authority archives throughout Yorkshire as well as archives in Oxford, Suffolk and Leicester. She has a background in medieval history but her recent work has focussed on the 19th and 20th century records of York
What’s on in York; Socially distant dancing on Acomb Green tomorrow (Friday)
What’s on in York; Foxwood “Hub” on this morning
