Are you bursting with creative content? Have you got an eye for the latest news story? Disability charity Leonard Cheshire and On Our Radar have teamed up to build a network of disabled citizen reporters.
Working as an inter-disciplinary communication agency for unheard and marginalised communities, On Our Radar and Leonard Cheshire have instigated this project with help by the Act for Change Fund.
TRAINING
The project, called Future Leaders, will recruit eight young lead reporters to receive specialist intensive training, with recruitment starting in Glasgow, before going onto Belfast, Swansea and Manchester and will last two years.
Joshua Reeves, campaign support officer at Leonard Cheshire, said: “This initiative will give so many young people a voice to tell stories that need to be said.
“We have seen how powerful citizen reporting can be through our projects in countries such as Kenya in terms of empowering people to campaign on the issues that mean the most to them.”
FUNDING
The youth campaigning pilot is a £3.6 million partnership between Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for organisations supporting young people working for change.
The Fund provides resources for young people to challenge social injustice and find ways of overcoming inequality to amplify issues they are experiencing.
The Future Leaders programme was inspired by Leonard Cheshire’s work in the UK through the youth skills-development programme Can Do and international work in Kenya and beyond, enabling trained citizen reporters to tell stories and campaign on the issues that matter to them most.
ADVOCACY
Young disabled people have an increased skill level in citizen reporting, advocacy and campaigning for change: they are future leaders already, and this project will allow more young disabled people to tell their story in 2020.
Learning intensive skills from a team of award-winning journalists at On Our Radar, covering topics including advocacy skills, leadership, citizen reporting, peer-mentoring, and taking part in workshops to advance knowledge on citizen reporting.
Training is set to start next month, with the second set of training starting in Belfast and Manchester from November of this year. Are you excited to get involved? Learn more here.