Voices of Manchester
Greater Manchester is home to nearly three million people. There are many things that make us different but what do we have in common with each other?
The Voices of Manchester project was led by four volunteers and was inspired by Jo Cox’s words: ‘We have more in common than that which divides us’. We wanted to know if this was true.
The project team invited local people to step forward for an experiment. We matched strangers from different backgrounds and asked them to take part in a recorded conversation.
Watch this animation and hear highlights from those conversations. You can read transcripts of the conversations by downloading the document below.
This video and project were developed and implemented by a group of four participants: Asma Begum, Catherine Chan, Joseph Timan, and Roger Rendell. The animation was created by Woven Ink.
‘I have thoroughly enjoyed the team I worked with on this project. Despite being from separate backgrounds, we were able to find common ground to work together well.’
‘Once we had recorded a few conversations, I wished we had hundreds.’
‘I loved getting to know the volunteers who were all from different backgrounds – it was the most diverse group I’ve ever been in. I wanted to replicate this type of experience for others.’
‘I enjoyed hearing about different people’s lives. I was pleasantly surprised many of the pairs found common ground so easily.’
‘Some of these conversations were pleasant chats; some of them were intense, thought provoking and challenging.’
