At Counterculture, we believe that social value is not just an after-thought – it’s integral to the way we work and is built in to many of our proposals. Several recent projects have shown how embedding work experience into our consultancy and cultural development can create meaningful, lasting benefits for young people and the communities we serve.
Beyond delivering strategic outcomes, we are increasingly focused on how we deliver – actively creating opportunities for local people to gain skills, build confidence, and begin their careers in the arts, culture and events industries. Two recent projects have built paid internships, with Senior Partner Jo Wright heralding them as ”great examples of how we can fuse social benefits into the development process itself.”
Local Placements That Strengthen Projects
A truly community-driven initiative, we’ve been working closely with Manchester City Council and other key partners to develop a vibrant new Neighbourhood Culture Hub at Wythenshawe Civic Centre. As part of this project, we designed a model that fostered local engagement and supported the growth of homegrown creative talent. Demonstrating our commitment to meaningful opportunities, we offered ten days of work experience for two aspiring young creatives – Blake and Paddy – who we recruited through the Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre, a trusted community and youth hub. Alongside hands-on experience, we provided training, mentoring, and a formal reference to support their future journeys.
Blake, already working part-time as a trainee youth worker, led a series of youth engagement sessions. He planned and facilitated workshops, gathered creative input and shared insights with the project team.
”Speaking to the young people made me realise how inaccessible creativity is for them – and how important it is to open those doors.” Blake said. ”The work also helped me build evidence for my youth work course.”
Paddy’s placement took a different but equally valuable route. He used his local network to gather feedback on the Culture Hub proposals. He also supported a public pop-up event in the Wythenshawe shopping centre – engaging passers-by and helping build grassroots support.
“It was a real immersive experience, it felt good to be part of the team and fully involved in the process, getting out there, communicating with my local community, letting them know about something positive for our area. I think it really increased my confidence. At the start of this year I applied for a job in youth work and mentioned this work experience in my interview. I was successful and got the job.”
Building Careers in Events
Counterculture were engaged by the North East Combined Authority (NECA) to shape a bold and strategic Events Strategy – designed to strengthen the long-term growth, identity, and impact of events across a region rich in cultural heritage, creative ambition and strong community pride.
Working with Northumbria University, Uzma Johal MBE led a recruitment process that brought in two outstanding interns who were studying event management. They joined our team to support a landmark NECA Events and Festivals Roundtable, held at the prestigious Glasshouse International Centre for Music as part of the Mayor’s MOBO Fringe Programme.
Claudia reflected on her placement:
“Working with Uzma and the Counterculture Team as an Events Production Assistant was an incredibly rewarding experience that brought my Events Management degree to life. It not only strengthened my coursework but gave me confidence in my career path.”
For Claudia, this led directly to a full-time job as a Project Coordinator at Beacon House Events.
Derianna echoed this impact:
“This internship made larger events seem much more achievable for me and highlighted pathways I am now more confident going down. I’m proud of our contributions and plan to keep growing in the cultural sector.”
These outcomes are exactly what Counterculture aims to deliver, and we are continuing to build social value into our methodology, exploring new models for community collaboration and advocating for experience in cultural consultancy and development work.