'About Us' returning to Derry for city centre events

Stemettes, The Poetry Society and 59 Productions will return on Tuesday, November 1 for a series of fun-filled STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Maths) initiatives.

Following spectacular light shows and projections in March in Guildhall Square and Waterloo Place, and coding and poetry workshops in Derry schools, About Us Now will offer creative STEM and poetry activities linking to the theme of connectivity and the Universe at Newmarket Street in the city centre, between Richmond Centre and Foyleside.

The sessions are for the whole family and open to the public from 10am to 4pm.

Commissioned as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, ‘About Us Now - Derry-Londonderry’ will involve physical learning activities planned for ages 7 to 25 to encourage participants to learn skills such as 3D modelling, illustration, HTML and poetry development.

The organisers said ‘About Us Now’ is ‘a continuation of our commitment to locations we previously visited, taking place in Paisley, Derry-Londonderry, Bangor, Luton and Hull during October and November 2022’.

Participants will learn about STEAM roles and opportunities in Derry. They will be split into groups based on their age; one primary, two secondary and one for ages 18 - 25. Primary aged children will have the option to take part in half a day or the full day. Additional offerings include mentoring, free certification academies, downloadable STEAM career guidance resources and the chance to become part of a supportive STEAM community.”

There will also be an evening panel event running on the same day aimed at young people, stakeholders and industry partners in Derry exploring next steps in developing STEAM talent in local areas.

About Us Now has been developed in collaboration with poets and scientists and back in January and February, Stemettes and The Poetry Society delivered Scratch coding and poetry workshops in primary schools across Derry.

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, Co-founder and CEO of Stemettes said: “I’m excited to be serving the local community in Derry-Londonderry and to be bringing the arts and STEM together for young ones to explore their creativity and place in the world.”

Judith Palmer, Director, The Poetry Society, said: “We’re delighted to be working with even more young people this autumn from Derry-Londonderry, with an exciting interactive programme of events harnessing young people's creativity.”

Lysander Ashton, Project Director, About Us and Director, 59 Productions, said: “59 Productions are really excited to continue the work after the spectacular shows earlier in the year and to dive deeper into the incredible stories of how connected we all are.”

About Us Now is a collaboration between 59 Productions – the award-winning design studio and production company who created the video design for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony; Stemettes – the award-winning social enterprise working to bring young women and non-binary young people into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers; and The Poetry Society – a dynamic arts organisations.

Further information on About Us Now can be found at aboutus.earth