CulturalHistories.org

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Aims and Objectives

The Cultural History Community Interest Company (CIC) was formed and registered with Companies House in June 2018. The objective of its activities is to provide benefit to people interested in the cultural history of their neighbourhoods and families, particularly, but not exclusively, in the town of Luton in Bedfordshire.

The aims are:

  • To increase a sense of community spirit and ownership by connecting people to the history and culture of their localities and neighbourhoods. Particularly, Luton school students working with Luton Culture and their Museum Makers volunteering initiative.
  • To work with local schools and through the Universities of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, the Chiltern Learning Partnership, the 6th Form College, the Local Education Authority, the Luton Music Service, Luton Culture and the Beds and Herts Regimental Association to engage with young people to raise their awareness of the history and heritage of the Town.
  • The development and enhancement of skills in the performing arts.
  • The development and enhancement of skills in production of art.
  • The development of employability and soft skills.
  • To create job and training opportunities.

Our Projects

When originally formed the initial focus of the CIC was to develop a programme of commemorative events around the 100th anniversary of the Luton Peace Riots that took place in July 1919. To commemorate this centenary, the CIC worked with a number partner organisations, individuals and local community groups to develop a range of projects that promoted awareness and interest in the culture and heritage of neighbourhoods, localities and people via learning and the performing arts. We received 2 awards for our work on the Peace Day riots centenary project and are extremely grateful for all the support and personal history contributions we received.

Our subsequent projects – Introducing Luton’s Heritage to a New Generation of Lutonians  – aim to record for posterity the memories of Lutonians of some iconic local buildings and  the history of the hat industry in Luton.  Using the recordings of family stories, and working with local schools we have developed classroom based learning material exploring the town’s heritage and history.

If you follow the links above you will be able to see the recordings and the learning material that has been produced to support these projects. 

If you work in a local school, these materials are available to Luton schools to download free of charge. Schools that would like to get more involved either with what we have produced already or be part of further projects please contact us on the emails below.

Alternatively, if you have an interesting Luton historic of heritage story that you wish to share with a large audience, please contact us. We are always looking for new ways to take the story Luton’s interesting and varied past to the town’s younger generation.

Learning Resources Hub

With funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund we have collated together all the learning resources from all our projects relating to:

  • The Luton Peace Riots 
  • The History of Iconic Luton Buildings 
  • The History of the Luton Hat Industry 

To enable easy access to all the learning resources  from our previous projects we have created Resources Hub on our website. The video and audio recordings, fact sheets and learning material for all the projects are  available free of charge to all Luton schools – follow the link to download – registration required.

 

Who Are Cultural Histories CIC?

Steve Goodman

Mike McMahon
Steve Goodman has a BA (Hons) Psychology from Hull University, an MA in Social Work and a Masters in Business Administration both from Leicester University.

He has had extensive experience in the field of social care and began his career in Leicestershire.

Steve joined Luton Borough Council when it achieved Unitary Authority status in 1996 and was appointed Assistant Director for Elderly Person Services in the new formed Housing and Social Services Department.

In 2001 Steve joined the London Borough of Hackney first as Assistant Director for Community Care then in 2004 became Assistant Director of children social care and later Deputy Director for children services.

Whilst in Hackney Steve designed and led the implementation of Reclaiming Social Work, an ambitious and ground breaking transformation of Children’s Social Care.

Steve formed Morning Lane [MLA] in 2010 and since that time MLA has worked with over 40 authorities in the UK, Australia, Canada, USA and Eire helping them think through how to improve their social work offer to families.

Steve is passionate about his home town of Luton and wants to use his expertise to raise the profile and image of the Town. 		Mike McMahon worked for Luton Borough Council for over 40 years holding a variety of Assistant Director, Head of Service and Director roles in Housing and Community Services.

Mike was the Council’s corporate lead on a series of prestigious high value projects including the refurbishment of Wardown House and the national award-winning New Homes for Luton Housing Joint Venture.

On retiring from the Council’s service in 2016, in addition to being the co-founder of The Cultural History CIC, Mike created his own company providing management consultancy services and secured a Non-Executive Directors role with a local Property Management Company.

In addition, Mike is an experienced trustee, having served as a trustee at Luton Town FC Community Trust for 4 years.

Mike is a passionate Lutonian – he is committed to working with local communities with a view to promoting a more positive reputation for the town and also creating opportunities for local people to raise their awareness and interest in the culture and heritage of the town.
Contact: steve.goodman@culturalhistories.orgContact: mike.mcmahon@culturalhistories.org