Led by volunteers from the Nigerian Community Association Bradford, the project focuses on migration from Nigeria.

Thanks to National Lottery players young people will be able to record an oral history of Nigerian elders’ experiences, and transform their stories into performances and artistic illustrations via a series of summer workshops and culminating in a unique community celebration event in early 2017.

Nigerian elders will take part in a series of workshops in which they will be encouraged to recollect their experiences in Nigeria, and their experiences of arriving in Bradford from the 1960s onwards.

[quote=Ayo Bakare, New Leaders Network]"The project will support the Nigerian community in Bradford to learn new skills and share their heritage with the wider community."[/quote]

NLN is an organisation that works with minority groups to help them to learn through developing communication and leadership skills, and will invite 50 participants from across the city to get involved in the project. Working with professional trainers, elderly Nigerian volunteers will be interviewed by young people and discuss their experiences of coming to Bradford from Nigeria. Volunteers will learn new communication skills, build their confidence, and have a platform to share their culture with others at a celebration event and on specially commissioned DVD.

Commenting on the award, Ayo Bakare, New Leaders Network, said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of HLF and are confident the project will support the Nigerian community in Bradford to learn new skills and share their heritage with the wider community’.

Fiona Spiers, Head of HLF Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “The Nigerian community has made a significant contribution to life in Bradford over the past 50 years. This project will enable young people to learn new skills to help them uncover and preserve this important part of the city’s heritage."

Further information

Ayo Bakare, Project Manager at New Leaders Network, on tel: 07854 396 894