The final weekend for the UNION 2019 cohort took place at Wortley Hall near Barnsley; the workers’ stately home. Beautiful surroundings and a rich history of activism all in one building.

The theme of the weekend was Finishing with a flourish (full programme here) and there was a combination of  personal development and reflection; sessions on practical issues identified by participants (such as funding and organisational structure); and time to evaluate the 2019 programme facilitated by Gerri Moriarty. Gerri was originally appointed to work alongside the UNION team by funder, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and has helped us to develop an evaluation strategy throughout the process.

And yes there was knitting… and the first UNION baby (Kelby) was there for the whole weekend. And our last Open Mic of the year included a whole range of performances and finished off with UNION cheerleading led by Gulcin’s daughter Celine.

The perfect end!

Or is it just the beginning?