PETER KIRK EUROPEAN TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIPS

During his gap year in 2007 DAVID RUSSELL Travelled through Paris, Florence on a cultural and artistic exploration of the people who live there through Photography

Looking back on his experiences three years later he says:

“ I'd like to thank you and everybody at the Peter Kirk Fund for making the opportunity possible for me. I had a life changing experience whilst I was in Paris and the project has motivated me in a huge number of ways..”

During his gap year in 2002 EMILE CHABAL travelled in Spain, France and Germany as one of two French Huguenot Church scholars. He was carrying out research into the different perceptions of ethnic minorities in these countries.

Looking back on his experiences three years later he says:

“My experience of the Peter Kirk Travel Scholarship was quite extraordinary. The topic I had chosen turned out to be far more interesting than even I had imagined. The bursary enabled me to investigate the fate of "ethnic minorities" in Madrid, Sevilla, Malaga, Paris, the Vendée, Berlin and Stuttgart. Each time my linguistic skills were put to severe tests and each time my perspective on the subject grew wider. During my travels, I was interpreter, researcher, observer and friend to a good many people. I came away with an intimate appreciation of the way in which Europe deals with its ethnic minorities. My initial human contact with the debates surrounding the subject has vastly improved my ability to handle the subsequent challenges of academic presentation.

My study was also critical from a personal point of view. I learnt to do research. I learnt to understand, accept and work around cultural differences in approach, methodology and language. Perhaps most importantly, I learnt to listen. This is the most valuable legacy of my research in Europe and as important to my intellectual future as it is to my social life.”

YAQUB HILAL travelled to Berlin for two months in 2003 at the end of his second year at university to discover the extent of the influence of the Middle East on the inhabitants of Berlin.

“The Peter Kirk scholarship allowed me the opportunity to carry out independent research at an undergraduate level and for which funding is generally scarce - however interesting the research proposal might be. It is this characteristic of the Peter Kirk Scholarship award that makes it quite unique.

I was interested in studying Berliners’ understanding of the term Middle East: what they perceived it to be and how they related to it. This involved interviewing Berliners, monitoring media sources and visiting as many museums, galleries and public venues as possible.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Berlin and the opportunity to conduct my own research influenced me positively. It allowed me to pursue a topic of interest, focus my ideas, articulate my thoughts and organize my own schedule. I now know more German than I did previously and I am very familiar with the city of Berlin. Also, through my research, I came into contact with new ideas and different world outlooks.

WILL RUTTER was 19 and at the end of his first year at university when he travelled along the GR20 for six weeks visiting local communities on an investigation of the traditional music of Corsica. With his guitar he got involved in the local music scene and was even featured in a Corsican newspaper. Since graduating in 2002 he has become a full time musician, won first place in an international competition in Poland and now has a record contract.

To quote from a recent comment from Will:

"The experience gained from the opportunity given me by the Peter Kirk Memorial Fund to undertake the study into Corsica's incredibly fascinating musical heritage was a dream come true. It made me realise the importance of hard work, perseverance and enthusiasm and was crucial in giving me the confidence to continue along my present musical pathway."

LORNA WADSWORTH whose project was entitled "A visual study of the Squares and Open Spaces of Paris" produced a beautifully bound book featuring many of the scenes she had captured in her sketch book in the squares of Paris in summer 2001.

Lorna has no doubt of the benefits gained from her scholarship:

"During the summer before my final year at art college I spent two months in Paris facilitated by the Peter Kirk Memorial Fund. The scholarship enabled me to achieve a depth of study otherwise unattainable on a student budget. The luxury of being able to live in the area I was seeking to depict, rather than a snatched week in a youth hostel, gave me the time to develop approaches and techniques and really taste what life would be like if I were to become a professional artist.

I produced a body of work that far surpassed the boundaries of anything I had previously achieved. These works have formed the backbone of my professional portfolio and led to commissions and many other opportunities.

It is frustrating having plans and ideas and things you want to achieve, but not having the support or the means to achieve your potential. The Peter Kirk Memorial Fund provides the invaluable service each year of helping young people to do just that."

SASHA COLLINGTON was in the last year of a BA in English and Italian when she was awarded a Peter Kirk scholarship in 2003. She has no doubts of the benefits of the time she spent in Italy studying The Italian Film Industry:

“It was a wonderful experience. I met Italian Film Producers and Directors, whilst living in one of the most culturally rich cities in the world. Being awarded a Peter Kirk Scholarship gave me an insight into an industry which has always fascinated me and enabled me to broaden my knowledge about Italian culture. It was also the first time that I had lived on my own in a foreign country and I feel that this experience helped me when making the transition from university to my first job as a graduate.”

ALESSANDRA BUONFINO was awarded a scholarship in 2002 when in the second year of a PhD on immigration and asylum policy. It enabled her to experience at first-hand the reality encountered by migrants crossing borders in Europe.

“Thanks to the Peter Kirk scholarship, I was able to spend some time in France and Italy. I visited the Sangatte immigration reception centre before it closed and several Italian “reception centres” that give shelter to migrants coming from North Africa.

The opportunity to look at what really happened “in the field” was extremely valuable. Without doubt it changed my perspective on the subject of my study (and also made me rather sceptical of much of what newspapers write on immigration…)! Being able to talk to the people who work with migrants every day, listening to the stories of some of the migrants who arrive on the southern European coasts with the hope of a new life in Europe and speaking to border control officers in Italy was most enlightening. It made me realise how tragic and complex the migration situation really is.

All this would not have been possible without the support of the Peter Kirk Fund. I very much encourage anyone interested in European issues to apply, as the field-work will surely turn out to be an extremely enriching and valuable experience.”