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The Big Conversation 2007

KS3 The Big Conversation...National schools competition & free teaching resources

‘The Big Conversation 2007’ is a competition, debate and showcase launched by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and Understanding Slavery to enable Key Stage 3 students to explore the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade in the context of modern day issues.

Young people will work together in their schools to develop journalistic projects in response to one of the following questions:

  • How and why should Britons commemorate the transatlantic slave trade?

  • How can Britons learn from this history and celebrate a modern society with a diverse heritage?

The competition will be judged in the autumn by a range of professionals and personalities from education, the arts and the media. Students from the winning schools will have the opportunity to discuss their final work and ideas in ‘The Big Conversation 2007’ debate in December with representatives from education, the media and politics. The overall winning school will receive a workshop with a journalist or film-maker, as well as £500 towards a museum visit. The competition is open to secondary schools across England and organisations working with young people aged 11 – 14.

To support teachers in devising schemes of work for competition entries the Citizen Resource – a printed pack for teachers and a corresponding website for students – has also been launched.

The resources are organised under four themes – Activism, Heritage, Identity and Routes and contain lesson plans and activities, image cards of artefacts and archive material as well as biographies of historical individuals affected by the legacies of the slave trade.

Teachers can order a free Citizen Resource pack by
email: enquiries@thebigconversation2007.com

Which five dates are worth remembering this year?