August 2020 saw Activate and b-side team up to deliver a free online course for people in Dorset aged 16-25. CREATE! Developing Your Idea supported 15 young people from across the county to explore what is involved in shaping creative ideas and learn how to make events a reality.
In this mini-series we invite the course participants to tell us about their experience. Here’s Anya’s story.
Why did you apply to take part in CREATE!?
I applied to take part in CREATE! as I wanted to learn the skills and what is needed to run my own event. I have always wanted to be able to do this but I did not have the confidence and had no idea of where to start.
Did you learn anything on the course that surprised you?
I was surprised by how much goes into planning an event and how complex it can be if you don’t plan your time effectively and start organising early on.
What is one key take-away that you learned on the CREATE! course?
The one key thing I will take away from the course is that when planning an event, it’s important to network and find other people, with similar ambitions who can help make the event a reality.
What are your next steps?
My next steps are to find suitable indoor locations to run my own event. I need somewhere that has tables and chairs that I could use but also doesn’t take too much of the budget. I will also need to purchase the equipment needed.
I really enjoyed the sessions and feel confident to successfully run my own event. I am glad we are having continued networking sessions as this is really helping to encourage me to run my event sooner rather than waiting for the perfect time that might never come.