The Young Foundation’s plans to expand the UpRising leadership programe received a boost when the government department for Communities and Local Government announced that the Young Foundation was successful in its application to the Empowerment Fund.
The funding, £500k to be spread over three years, will be used to fund and develop two strands of the Young Foundation’s work – on the UpRising leadership programme and on Neighbourhood Media.
UpRising is a new leadership programme being developed by the Young Foundation to support and train a new generation of public leaders. UpRising identifies, recruits, develops and supports 19 to 25 year olds to enable them to play a greater role in politics and public decision-making.
The aim is to create a pool of talented young leaders from a range of backgrounds who can transform their communities for the better and take up positions of power in public institutions. UpRising was launched in 2008 and is being piloted in the East London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Newham and Tower Hamlets. It will then spread across London and into other major cities across the UK. The programme has cross-party support with Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg serving as its patrons.
The Empowerment Fund will allow the Young Foundation to develop the UpRising leadership programme and significantly expand its reach from the pilot areas in London to the other areas in which the Foundation has a strong presence and partners across the UK.
The funding will also enable us to explore the role that social media can play at the very local level, looking at various aspects of Neighbourhood Media. Giving communities and community leaders a voice is another important part of opening up routes to power. Web 2.0 tools can promote local interaction and a greater sense of community and empowerment both on and off-line. At the moment there are few robust, user-friendly, sustainable Web 2.0 platforms specifically designed to build cohesive, empowered, and active neighbourhoods. The Empowerment Fund will allow the Young Foundation to contribute to a step change in the visibility, quality and confidence of community based web media.
For more information please contact Helen Crumley, Events and Communications Manager at the Young Foundation on 020 8709 9265 or email helen.crumley(at)youngfoundation.org
Further Information
1. The announcement of funding to support the expansion of UpRising was made by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears on 1st April 2009. The announcement is available here: http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1192224.
2. The Young Foundation is a centre for social innovation that undertakes research to identify and understand social needs and then develops practical initiatives and institutions to address them. For more information go to www.youngfoundation.org.
2. To find out more about UpRising visit www.uprising.youngfoundation.org.
3. v is the youth volunteering organisation launched in May 2006 whose mission is to inspire a new generation of volunteers in England aged 16‐25. v is supported by the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office.
4. This vinvolved project is part of v‘s £75 million National Youth Volunteering Programme, which aims to inspire 500,000 young people aged 16‐25 to get positively involved in their communities.
5. To find out more about v visit the organisation’s website www.vinspired.com.
6. UpRising is also supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
