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'Cultural exchange' project connects youth groups

BBC Three males - one stood up and bent over, one kneeling and another crouch down - hold a freshly-caught fish at the angling lake near Newstead. A wind turbine is in the background beyond the edge of the waterBBC
Cast Angling Project, based in Newstead, welcomed groups from London and Bradford as part of the scheme

A "cultural exchange" project has been set up between a former pit village and two inner-city areas.

It was developed by Dr Lisa McKenzie, a senior lecturer in sociology who lives in Bestwood village in Nottinghamshire.

Dr McKenzie, who describes herself as a "working class academic", said the project was about young people "building bridges with communities, swapping experiences and helping each other".

Cast Angling Project, based in the Nottinghamshire village of Newstead, has so far welcomed visitors from east London and Bradford as part of the scheme.

A group of people sit around tables covered with white cloths in a large room at Newstead Abbey. The walls are cream in colour and the room is brightly lit
The visit involved a trip to Newstead Abbey, where Nico Blade-Smith gave a brief recital of Lord Byron's poetry

The exchanges take place at weekends as part of an informal arrangement between the groups involved.

The aim is to build bridges between very different places with high levels of deprivation.

In September, Cast welcomed a group from Social Ark, which works with young people - from Newham in east London - to develop businesses to help their communities.

Nico Blade-Smith, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, welcomed the visitors with a brief presentation of Newstead's mining history and took them to a fishing lake for an introduction to angling.

Nico Blade-Smith wears a black baseball cap with the Cast logo - an orange circle featuring the world "Cast" written in blue.
Mr Blade-Smith was offered an apprenticeship with Cast and is now a teaching assistant

The 18-year-old joined Cast after getting into trouble when he was younger.

"I was just a bit of a reprobate," he says.

But he was eventually offered an apprenticeship with the group, which he said gave him a "sense of belonging", and is now a teaching assistant.

On the exchange scheme, he said: "All enterprises can use each other - and [I can] use my experiences to maybe give them a few tips, a few pointers, things like that."

Nico Blade-Smith, wearing blue jeans, a black coat and a black baseball cap featuring the Cast logo, stands at the edge of a fishing lake talking to two men with their backs to the camera. One is wearing a grey hoody, the other is wearing a black gilet over a light blue top and is carrying a darker blue bag
Members of Social Ark were given a brief introduction to angling

"What I wanted to do was bring them here so they could see that there are difficulties and issues, and problems that we have in Nottinghamshire that are perhaps different from the city," Dr McKenzie said.

"But also that the young people from east London would probably see some similarities with things that they struggle with.

"For example, as working class young people, we are dedicated and talented, and committed to all sorts of things but very rarely get any opportunities, and I think that's the thing they will connect over."

The following weekend, a group from Cast took a trip to London to visit members of Social Ark.

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