Being Human at QMUL – Funding Call
Applications of up to £500
This year Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) will host a programme of activities between 12
– 22 November 2015 as part of Being Human, the UK’s only national festival of the humanities. This
will consist of QMUL hosted events and activities that are free and open to the public, showcasing
the university’s excellence in humanities to a wide audience in accessible and engaging ways.
Being Human demonstrates the strength and diversity of the humanities, and how they can help us
to understand ourselves, our relationships with others, and the challenges we face in a changing
world.
Our programme of events will be themed ‘Humans of east London’, with two strands reflecting
Being Human’s focus:
Building People for the Future –this strand will look to explore how humanities explores the nature
of aging, from growing up to growing old, incorporating work with older adults across QMUL, and
how it links with medical technologies for ‘building people’, such as medical implants.
Living through Stories – Tower Hamlets has a rich history, evidenced through a number of projects
coming from the university and community about local stories. We are looking for events and
activities that explore lives through storytelling, whether this be film, spoken word, walking tours,
photography or others.
Through this programme of events we aim to showcase the innovative approaches that QMUL
researchers are taking to involving the wider community in their research, and the transformational
work of our local community groups. Because of this we will prioritise application that involve cocreation with local community, and that can demonstrate either pre-existing links that would allow
them to take place in community spaces, or that have the potential to be conducted off campus.
Events and activities submitted for inclusion in the programme must be free and suitable for a
general public audience and should meet the festival’s key aims to:
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Demonstrate the value of humanities research to society and culture in the UK and globally;
demonstrate the vitality of research in the humanities across the UK;
encourage, support and create the opportunity for humanities researchers to engage with
non-academic audiences;
promote the humanities as accessible and relevant to people’s everyday lives;
enhance public visibility and understanding of the humanities;
facilitate collaborations between researchers in the humanities and cultural and community
partners.
This funding call is for up to £500 to help with activities and events related to the Being Human
programme. All applications must be for public facing activity taking place between 11 – 22
November 2015 and relate to the festival’s key aims and one of our two themes.
Your details
Full Name:
Department:
Title:
Email address:
Activity details
Activity title:
This should be short and capable of capturing the public imagination
Proposed Activity Date:
Activities must take place between 11 – 22nd November, if you have a certain date already planned or that
you would like to hold the activity please let us know.
Activity location, venue:
Where applicable, if no prearranged venue please give an indication of any considerations.
Activity summary:
Please make sure you explain the audience you are targeting and what you intend them to get from the
activity. Clearly what format your activity will take (discussion/debate, seminar/conference, exhibition,
hands on/outdoors, arts/theatre, other or multi-format).
Approx 500 words.
How many people do you expect to attend the activity and how will you advertise your activity to
the potential audience?
Being Human activities must be accessible to a public audience and be external, rather than internal,
focussed. Those that fail to demonstrate how they will appeal to a public audience will not be funded in this
round. Approx 100 words.
How will your activity increase awareness of the impact and relevance of the humanities on our
everyday lives?
Approx 100 words.
How does your activity tie in with one of the QMUL festival themes of ‘Building Humans’ or ‘Living
through Stories’?
Approx 100 words.
Outline costs:
Please give an estimate of costings. It is strongly recommended that you consult the Centre for Public
Engagement before completing this section to gain accurate estimates of costs, e.g. room and equipment
hire. Please indicate here any potential for match funding or support in kind.
Award Conditions
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Activities must take place between 12 – 22 November 2015
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Activities must be public facing, free to attend and based in the UK
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Activities must engage the public with teaching and learning at Queen Mary University of
London and involve QMUL staff and/or students in their delivery.
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Promotional and other information must be branded in line with festival guidelines and
feature the Centre for Public Engagement (CPE) and Being Human logos
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A short final report of no more than 2 A4 pages must be completed by the end of December
2015
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We will not fund catering costs unless it is shown that these are integral to the event, with
evidence of a sound methodology or critical thinking behind the request. Where we do fund
catering, we will only do so within QMUL’s hospitality guidelines.
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We will not fund activity which would happen without funding from the CPE. If an event or
activity has already been advertised, we are unable to fund the project unless additional
funds can be proved to further the appeal to Being Human audiences.
We can include existing activities through the Being Human programme if you send details
to Therese Williams (t.williams@qmul.ac.uk).