Liverpool, UK — The Daniel Adamson Preservation Society (The Danny) is proud to announce Maritime Heritage Maritime Futures, a flagship youth engagement event taking place on 15 June at the Museum of Liverpool and across Liverpool’s historic waterfront.
Delivered in partnership with National Museums Liverpool, the Canal and River Trust, Liverpool John Moores University, Peel Ports and other maritime industry partners, the event forms part of The Danny’s ongoing commitment to celebrating the region’s maritime legacy while inspiring future generations to engage with the challenges facing the sector today, and the careers to be built around solving them.
Hosted in the Museum of Liverpool, aboard the iconic steamship The Danny, and on the water in Duke’s Dock, the event brings together 250 school pupils, students, industry and heritage leaders, educators, engineering apprentices and cadets for a full day of talks, demonstrations, and trials on the water in the dock! It showcases how the city region’s brilliant young people respond to the challenges facing maritime heritage and maritime industries today. Highlights include:
- The big Float your Boat challenge – the exciting live test in the docks of student-designed and built vessels: each is attempting to successfully transport cargo at the lowest cost and lowest environmental impact, just like shipping companies today
- Visits to the Danny, to meet the crew and to explore the vessel through the lens of the heritage trail created by the STEAM club from Childwall Academy.
- Demos of hydraulic floating cranes school pupils have created, inspired by The Buffalo, following a challenge set by Peel Ports
- Screening of a film by ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students exploring connections between their home countries and Liverpool
- The future of green maritime technology, presented by industry leaders
- Career pathways for young people entering the sector, with a careers fair featuring university, port, shipbuilding, maritime law and decarbonisation sector leaders
- Young people’s adverts, heritage trails and business presentations on how to engage young audiences with the concerns of maritime and maritime heritage today.
- Inclusive pathways into heritage and conservation activities, volunteering and work for young people with learning disabilities, showcased by the wonderful Group D from Thornton College
- School pupils’ designs of vessels that remove plastic pollution from the rivers, before it can add to the mountains of plastic in the sea
Cathriona Bourke, The Danny’s Learning and Participation Manager, explains that: “The Danny – the last Mersey‑built steamer, brilliantly restored for the nation—fires young people’s imagination and roots them in Liverpool’s maritime story. With partners across the sector, from National Museums Liverpool and Peel Ports Group to Cammell Laird, Mersey Maritime, Svitzer, Hill Dickinson, LJMU, Fleetwood Nautical Campus, SeaKing, Canal & River Trust, and local schools and colleges, we’ve built an event that throws open the doors to maritime and heritage careers. Young people meet the real people shaping the industry – from curious Year 9s to apprentices, cadets, students and seasoned professionals – making the route into the sector unmistakable and exciting.”
Ruth Wood, Chief Executive of Mersey Maritime, describes the event as: “a bold step in redefining how heritage and maritime innovation can work together to inspire the next generation.”
Ian Murphy, Head of Maritime Museum, says: “Liverpool’s Maritime Museum shares fascinating stories of how deeply connected local communities have always been to the sea and the maritime industry. We are delighted to partner with the Danny and support young people in the region to engage with their rich maritime heritage, and feel inspired for their future studies and careers.”
For further information and photos: Cathriona.bourke@danieladamson.co.uk
