Rural arts & emotional wellbeing
GLOW
Giving Light to
Our Wellbeing.
Bringing older people in rural communities together to create stories, build connections and strengthen local capacity.
Stories create
connection,
confidence
& belonging.
Programme period
May–November 2026
Location
Causeway Coast and Glens
Direct story participants
Up to 68 older people across four rural venues
Community capacity
Eight community champions trained to support local delivery
About GLOW
Rural stories.
Shared wellbeing.
GLOW is a rural arts and emotional wellbeing programme designed to reduce loneliness, amplify seldom-heard voices and build lasting community connections.
Older people will help create original stories rooted in rural life and themes including belonging, resilience and self-care. These stories will become the basis for guided group conversations in local venues.
By combining creative participation with local facilitator training, GLOW aims to leave both a collection of community stories and stronger capacity for activity to continue locally.
What GLOW supports
Creative activity with a lasting local purpose.
Connection
Creating regular opportunities to meet, share and build relationships through stories.
Creative voice
Supporting people to shape authentic stories from lived experience while retaining their own voice.
Wellbeing
Exploring themes such as loneliness, resilience, belonging and self-care in a supported group setting.
Local capacity
Equipping community champions with storytelling, facilitation and safeguarding skills.
Why rural access matters
51%
of adults in rural areas took part in arts activities, compared with 58% in urban areas.
Making participation easier to reach.
Dispersed populations, limited transport and declining local services can intensify isolation in rural areas, particularly for older people.
Arts participation figures: NISRA, Wellbeing and Engagement in Culture, Arts, Heritage and Sport 2023/24.
How the programme works
From lived experience
to a shared local legacy.
Phase 1 · 10 weeks
Co-create the stories
Twelve previous SHINE participants develop stories inspired by rural life and wellbeing, supported through idea generation, drafting, professional editing and discussion-guide design.
Phase 2
Build community capacity
Eight community champions train in Verbal’s storytelling method, group facilitation and safeguarding practice, building skills that can remain within rural organisations.
Phase 3 · 6 weeks
Share, discuss and mentor
Story sessions take place in four rural venues. Co-produced stories are read aloud and used to open guided conversations about belonging, resilience and self-care, while community champions move from shadowing to co-facilitation.
Phase 4 · Celebration
Celebrate the community
The programme concludes with a public showcase for up to 75 people, including readings by local writers, recognition for community champions and opportunities for connection and celebration.
Community connections
Built with and for
rural communities.
GLOW works through a network of community organisations across Causeway Coast and Glens.
Connected – Causeway Loneliness Network
Garvagh & District Development Association
Greysteel Community Association
Roe Valley Residents Association
The Diamond Centre, Claudy
The Glens Community Association, Limavady
The Vale Centre, Greysteel
Programme funding
Supporting rural engagement through the arts.
GLOW is funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland through the Rural Engagement Arts Programme 2025/26.
Publicity for the programme is supported by National Lottery funding.
Find out more
Contact the Verbal team.
For information about GLOW, its community partnerships or Verbal’s work through storytelling, contact the Verbal team.