New partnership between GM Moving and The Guardian owners ahead of GM Walking Festival
A new partnership between GM Moving and The Scott Trust will see The Legacies of Enslavement programme commission groups to develop four new routes for the 2026 GM Walking Festival.
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A new partnership between GM Moving and The Scott Trust, which owns The Guardian newspaper, will see The Legacies of Enslavement programme commission groups to develop four new walking and wheeling routes for the 2026 GM Walking Festival.
The Legacies of Enslavement programme is a 10-year restorative justice initiative which was launched in March 2023 in response to The Guardian founders' connections to the transatlantic enslavement.
Applications are now open for groups who wish to create a new route across Greater Manchester with expressions of interest that are 3 A4 pages (PDF) or 3 minutes in audio (mp4) maximum, sent to [email protected] by 08.00am on Thursday 8 January.
A “route” is being defined as a planned walk that can be done independently or as a guided tour. Applicants do not need to have created a route before and do not need to be part of a walking, wheeling, or moving group to apply.
Each route must respond to the theme of the Legacies of Enslavement programme, Heritage in Action, and the GM Moving Festival theme, Celebrating Connected Communities.
A route developer/creator will receive a fee of £2,000 to create and activate a new route in May 2026, routes will be activated at least twice between 1-4 May and 25-29 May.
Each route developer will attend a series of compulsory training sessions in February and March to support with the creation of their route. Workshops will cover topics such as interpreting local history, working inter-generationally, technical aspects of creating a route for your community and the social model for disability.
Route creation will involve recording audio and providing notes for the routes to be turned into online resources. This will allow for the material to exist in the programme and festival archives after May 2026.
Applications are now open, and the deadline is 08.00am Thursday 8 January. Please send expressions of interest to: [email protected]
The Legacies of Enslavement programme and GM Moving are hosting online Q&A sessions at the following times for anyone who wants to find out more before applying:
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