Greater Manchester Game Changers

Game Changers was made possible with a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund and involved groups of young women from every borough in Greater Manchester exploring the movement of the ‘hidden’ female campaigners – the suffragists – and the peaceful methods they used to campaign for their right to vote, which led to the Representation of the People Act 1918.

Each young women’s group attended skills workshops to help them become effective campaigners and leaders of the future and build self-esteem, social skills, confidence and raise aspirations.

They also visited the People’s History Museum, Archives+ and researched campaigners from their respective borough to help them get inspiration to create a giant jigsaw piece in the shape of their borough decorated with information about local campaigners, along with other visual arts based on suffragist materials.

All 10 groups re-enacted the 1908 Manchester Demonstration by marching though Lark Hill Place, Salford Museum and Art Gallery in February, and the day after International Women’s Day (9th March) the groups hosted pop up stalls in their local museums displaying all their visual arts work.

The project culminated in a joint event on (13th April) – where the young women from all the boroughs came together for performances, debates and a showcasing of work at Manchester City Library recreating the Women’s Bazaar of 1912.

Accompanying the project we have developed an informative and engaging Key Stage Two learning resource focusing on the Greater Manchester suffragist movement in partnership with Minerva Heritage. This resource has been freely donated to Primary Schools across Greater Manchester and is free to download from this website alongside free YouTube video clips of related activities for ages 9+.

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Suffragists

Read about key Suffragists from each region of Manchester.

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The Game Changers

Find out about how region became involved in Greater Manchester Game Changers.

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Applying the Past Today

See how young people recreated the past through learning about the suffragist campaign methods and making the materials.

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