On Wednesday 23 September, a mix of people with a love for the borough came together at Rochdale’s Ukrainian Centre for the first Let’s Talk About Our Story conversation.
Residents, community leaders, local businesses and volunteers all brought different perspectives and a shared interest in Rochdale’s future. People walked through a side room with a difference as they read and listened to some of the negative stories about Rochdale before passing through the usual sparkly curtain, leaving their job titles at the door.
This entrance set the scene for one of the big themes of the evening. Too often, other people tell the story of Rochdale and it’s the negative stuff that gets the most attention.
We kicked things off with a brilliant video from Greg Egan, sharing his perspective and helping us get in a positive mood for the conversation.
Click Here To Watch Greg’s Video
Cameron Ogden, co-chairman of Rochdale A.F.C. joined the conversation and shared the founding story behind For Generations To Come, including why he and his family started the initiative after buying the club.
During the evening, people spent time around three different conversation tables: News Alert: Rochdale in 2036, #OurRochdale and Pitch Your Patch.
Each looked at Rochdale’s story from a different angle, with a different activity to get the ideas flowing.
On the News Alert table the challenge was to create the front page news for Rochdale on 23 September 2036. Everyone was encouraged to be ambitious, imagine the positive news happening across the borough and pin their finished front pages to the Telegraph Wire.
At #OurRochdale table, people explored how we can work together through social media to challenge negative content and promote the positive.
For Pitch Your Patch, printed cards featuring places and assets got people thinking creatively about how we could promote them. The cards, along with plenty of new ideas, were then pinned to the pitch boards.
News Alert: Rochdale In 2036
The imagined headlines were positive and ambitious.
There were 30,000 new jobs created through Atom Valley, with more opportunities for local young people and graduates. Healthier, happier young people featured too, with ideas for an award-winning youth hub and parks designed by young people themselves.
There were hopes for rising wages, more people choosing to stay and build their future here, and Rochdale becoming an international town of culture, showing what can happen when people work together.
This conversation was all about thinking big and imagining the headlines we would love to see written about Rochdale in ten years’ time.
#OurRochdale
At the #OurRochdale table, the conversation was about sharing the good stuff, backing the people already doing it and challenging the negative.
There was recognition that plenty of positive stories are already being told. Well Media’s weekly podcast was highlighted as one example, alongside a wider conversation about how more of us can help those stories travel further.
Ideas included creating more positive spaces online to share good news from across Rochdale and helping young people navigate social media positively, including bringing influencers and Content Creators into schools.
There was also a strong sense that we can all play a part, having the confidence to challenge the negative and make more noise about the good stuff happening across the borough.
Pitch Your Patch
Pitch Your Patch turned to spotlight the borough’s best places, people and projects and how we can make more of them.
From green spaces to landmarks and culture, there were loads of ideas for putting Rochdale on the map.
People talked about making more of our outdoor spaces, from walks and open-water swimming to camping and even a Rochdale Way ultramarathon. There were also ideas for giving people more reasons to stay, with more places to stay and weekend trips built around local attractions.
Rochdale’s landmarks and culture featured too, from the Town Hall and Touchstones to festivals, Skylight Circus and new public art.
With great locations across the borough, there were also plenty of ideas for showcasing more of the places we know and love through TV and film.
What came through strongly was that we don’t always need to create something new. There is already plenty here to be proud of. The opportunity is to make more of it and get better at telling people about it.
Making Connections
The Let’s Talk About series of conversations isn’t just about sharing ideas. The conversations have an equally important focus on bringing people together and connecting people with shared interests in different ideas.
Throughout the evening, our Handle Bar gave people a chance to share their social media handles, find each other online and keep those connections going after the event.
It was a simple addition, but an important one. There was a real mix of people in the room, many of whom might not otherwise cross paths. Making those connections is part of what For Generations To Come is all about.
A huge thank you to everyone who came along, shared their perspectives and got stuck in. Thanks also to everyone who stepped in front of the camera and shared their own Rochdale story with Sarah and Maddy. We’ll be looking through the footage and sharing it with Roam Rochdale, who couldn’t be there in the evening but kindly offered to create a reel for social media. Please do watch this space to see what comes from it.
Thanks also to Greg Egan for helping us kick off the evening with his video.
We were also brilliantly looked after by the Ukrainian Club, who hosted us for the evening. A great local venue with fabulous volunteers.
Ways To Get Involved
The conversation threw up plenty of ideas for changing how Rochdale Borough is seen. Some simple, some ambitious. The next step is connecting people who want to take those ideas further. Do get in touch if you want to be involved.
Round Here, our borough-wide online conversation, also gave people the chance to share their thoughts about Rochdale. One contribution summed up Our Story perfectly:
“We are all part of the jigsaw and we just need to put the pieces together and say we love Rochdale, I am proud of Rochdale and that’s all we need to do, connect the pieces. Thank you.”
Want to take an idea further?
Email ben@our-future.io and we’ll connect you with others who are interested too.
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