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Peter's Top 20 Moments of the Last Decade

As part of our tenth birthday celebrations, we asked our Chief Executive Officer, Peter Gaw, for his top 10 moments at Inspire from the last decade. He couldn't quite narrow it down to 10, so here are his top 20! 

1. 2016 – New transactional website for Inspire services goes live.

2. 2016 - The first An Inspired Christmas concert. Now an annual highlight of the festive period! 

3. 2017 - Beeston Library is refurbished. Our first refurbishment as Inspire!

4. 2018 Inspire gains Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation status, delivering a rich programme of creativity for children and young people.

5. 2018 – Community Makers – a new approach to volunteering launched.

6. 2019 – Retford Library is refurbished.

7. 2019 - 2020 – Response to the Worksop Library flood, setting up a temporary library and reopening an improved library. 

8. 2020 – Covid-19 pandemic hits and our service shifts. 

9. 2021 – Places of Welcome start – 28 groups are thriving today!

10. 2022 - Inspire takes part in LAND/NG - a short film and project exploring the Mayflower 400. 

11. 2022 – Adult reading scheme launched and featured on BBC national TV– helping adults to become literate. 

12. 2023 – The Mother of Tension - an IWM 14-18 NOW commission Hip Hop dance theatre project featuring Inspire Youth Arts, inspired by Inspire Archives documents. 

13. 2023 – Inspire Buttermarket Learning Centre in Newark opens.

14. 2023 – Stapleford Library and Learning Centre is refurbished with funding from Stapleford Towns Fund. 

15. 2023 – Inspire participates in Urban X-Change programme with Gutersloh where learners and Inspire staff were able to be part of exchange visits and a range of events. 

16. 2024 – Newark library reopens following upgrade of heating and cooling systems.

17. 2024 – Nottinghamshire County Council approves a new library strategy and extends the Inspire contract to March 2028.

18. 2025 – Able Orchestra 360 showcase at Fletcher's Theatre in Nottingham. 

19. 2025 – Inspire gains Investors in Diversity award and named in the top 100 UK employers as an inclusive organisation.

20. 2026 - Inspire receives Library Development Framework accreditation.

The back of a person's head browsing the Inspire website on a laptop
Royal Concert Hall stage
The exterior of Beeston Library
Children playing in coloured leaves
Three people wearing community makers tshirts smiling to the camera
The interior of Retford Library featuring bookshelves and a chandelier
A flooded library interior with a wet floor sign
A sign asking people not to enter the library with Covid-19 symptoms
Two places of welcome white mugs
People running through a church building
People with cameras sat around a table
Two female dancers on stage wearing white vests crossing their arms
A sign that reads Newark Buttermarket
The exterior of Stapleford Library
People sat on grass in front of a sign
Newark Library exterior
Cover of county council library strategy document
Young musicians wearing yellow t shirts
Peter Gaw has short brown hair, wears glasses, a light blue shirt striped shirt with a dark blue tie and jacket. Peter smiles whilst holding a silver plaque on a dark brown wooden mount with the words Investors in Diversity Award.
Cover of libraries development framework
Inspire 10 logo