Statement of Social Responsibility

Our Values

We are inclusive

We are community-minded 

We believe culture belongs to everyone and seek to inspire and connect readers and writers of all ages, beliefs, sexes, genders, races and abilities 

We care about the environment and seek to be environmentally sustainable 

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How We Will Live Our Values

We will seek to be inclusive by:

- ensuring that our venues are physically accessible to all;

- seeking to provide as many captioned/BSL interpreted events as we can;

- offering concessionary ticket prices to those living on benefits or in education

- trying to connect with hard to reach groups

 

We aim to increase the diversity of both the authors who appear at the Festival and our audiences.

 

We will keep everyone safe at our events and have a comprehensive Safeguarding Policy

 

We also have a Code of Conduct which we expect everyone associated with our Festival to honour

 

We will seek out and champion new and emerging authors and support local authors where we can

 

We will promote an Outreach programme with established authors to local schools and educational establishments to greater promote the love of reading and creative writing amongst young people

 

We will promote writing by our annual Creative Writing Competition and collaborating with professional organisations to offer workshops for aspiring writers

 

We will minimise our impact on the environment by

- ensuring our events are accessible by foot and public transport

- limiting our use of carbon intensive technology as much as possible

- reducing our use of printed materials as much as possible

- only using reusable or recyclable products at our events

 

We will offer volunteering opportunities to all within our community

 

We will support the sustainability of our community by engaging with local businesses and suppliers

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This statement will be reviewed annually by the Trustees

 

January 2025