What’s next?

“It kept coming up so consistently that it was impossible for us to ignore, so that what we (Westfield) are now doing is we are going to have a massive interactive fountain which we never had before…..we wouldn’t have had it without the kids definitely…. Definitely….”

Jonathan Watson - Community Engagement Manager, Westfield

The legacy of the project has begun. In real terms, ‘Stratford City’ will have elements that were conceived by the children through their participation in the project.  One example is the water feature for the public square, which is in the design stage at the time of writing.

The partner school has decided to incorporate aspects of peer facilitation into its approach to learning and teaching. In 2008 and 2009 Year 4 and 5 children will take part in a peer mentoring scheme supporting the younger ones in Literacy

Building the Future is a three year programme supported by Westfield and the London Development Agency, based on the work done by the children on Listening to Learn. The project aims to make a lasting difference to children’s lives in Stratford by creating an outstanding model of community engagement and consultation. In partnership with Westfield and LDA, Discover will deliver a number of projects between 2008 - 2010 to facilitate a dialogue between children, families, developers and planners that will contribute to regeneration of Stratford City.

As part of the Building the Future programme Discover have established a Young Consultants group that consists of up to 30 children ranging in age from 4-12 years old. They will work closely with architects, artists and planners over the course of the two-year programme to find creative solutions to design issues, for example signage, pedestrian routes, street furniture, public realm and public art. In the first phase of the programme children are working with an architect developing new ways of communicating their design ideas to architects and designers.

Discover is also starting a new participation project with Lend Lease. In 2009, the Discover Children’s Forum will work with artists, developers and architects to put forward their views and creative reflections about public spaces planned for Stratford City Zones 1 to 7, including the Athletes Village for the London 2012 Olympic Games currently being developed by Lend Lease. Incorporating a diverse range of creative media, the project will produce a multi-layered reflection of the children’s interaction with public spaces, looking at design concepts as well as use of space.

The Design Matters programme focus on enabling local children’s ideas, values and aspirations to contribute to the transformation of Stratford, east London and to promote children’s rights to participate in the decision making about issues that affect them.

Image of people participating in our project