We will be hosting a series of Twelve Conversation Café’s at Fabrica from October 2015, facilitated by Nicola Benge (Strike A Light), will use Holy Trinity, the plaque and the local area to look into participant histories.

• Strike A Light: A local voluntary arts and heritage organisation using people’s life stories and memories to transform public and private spaces, specialising in intergenerational projects and working with people in the third age.
• Brighton and Hove Library Services: Jubilee and Hove Libraries: Lucy Castle and Kate Regester – Community Engagement Managers www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/libraries.org
• University of the Third Age(U3A) Local History Group: A learning co-operative of people no longer in full time employment. With over 450 members and educational, creative and social. Alan Cooke – Chairman of Brighton and Hove U3A and Coordinator of U3A Local History Group. www.brightonandhoveu3a.org.uk

There will be talks from Dr Chris Kempshall, project Coordinator of the WWI in East Sussex project, outings to the Rare Books Archiveand more including discussions will be led around themes inspired by The Boys on the Plaque, including life in Brighton & Hove during WWI, historical experiences of ordinary men and women, and life after the war. We will also consider wider themes about the church in the community, and Holy Trinity’s history with its bi-centennial in 2017. Participants will gain an in-depth knowledge of Holy Trinity as church and gallery over the project.
Information and copies of selected heritage materials found by our research group will be shared with older and younger people through our Conversation Cafe’s and Graffiti workshops, and intergenerational groups at our free Walking Tours, Heritage Open Days events on Thursday 10th September 2015 and Thursday 8th September 2016 and Bi-Centennial celebration in 2017, increasing the reach and impact of our research.
Through this we aim to connect people with local places associated with WWI, through investigation of our locality, sharing our findings through Walking Tours of the area and events based at Fabrica (a Grade II* listed building).
Nicola Benge (Strike a Light) will work with members of University of the Third Age and other individuals to share stories, memories, family history and local history (using information generated by the Volunteer Researchers), and take part in object handling to establish a meaningful history of ordinary people’s lives in Brighton & Hove.
These will be recorded for posterity, inform the project as a whole and will help to build a long-lasting relationship between the participants and Fabrica.
Academics, historians and researchers will be incorporated into our activities, their research and skills enabling a high quality learning experience for volunteers and participants, and significantly enriching our public programme.