A dance, film and cultural exchange connecting children around the world together through the arts has raised an incredible £20,000 towards the initiative, but they’re not stopping there.

“We also want to work with young refugees in Lesbos, we want it to expand and expand. We hope the model may even be taken to areas of conflict, so children there can be involved in the same creative process,” explains artistic director Hattie Worboys, from Hackney.

The project was created by Hattie in 2014 in connection with the collaborative arts initiative New Orleans Airlift, founded in 2008 by musician and artist manager Jay Pennington and Delaney Martin, a multi-media installation artist, as a response to the destruction and continued effect of Hurricane Katrina.

After the success of the first project in 2014, between New Orleans and children from St John and St James School in Hackney, Liberty Express also joined forces with organisation in Mumbai and Rio.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

(Caetano Fernandes dancing with his siblings in their back yard, Mesquita, Chatuba, Rio de Janeiro)

There has been a crowdfunding campaign to enable to project to continue, with ever extra pound helping them to expand around the world.

Hattie describes how it works: “I go and teach a series of four or five creative dance workshops which are all based on improvisation. Then we go and film them in their neighbourhood dancing. We then introduce them online and show this so they can connect online without language being a barrier.

“It can break down cultural barriers and linguistic, and increase understanding of difference cultures. By default their families and communities end up getting involved too, which is great. At the end we make a roll of footage from what we’ve gathered throughout the process and we make a documentary and create a video installation.”

Aside from the belief in arts for art’s sake, Hattie explains why the project is so important: “I think it’s a glimmer of hope because you feel a bit powerless watching the news at the moment. Trump is an example of many people creating a polarisation of different cultures, it’s becoming very extreme. Intolerance and prejudice is growing.

“A project like this is a gentle but powerful reminder of how similar people are and how much we have in common. People have told me that watching the documentary afterwards is quite life affirming and uplifting.”

You can find out more and donate on kickstarter.com