The Marginal Activist Programme secures Act for Change fund grant!

We’ve got a fresh flex to show off and are extremely proud to announce that we’ve secured an Act for Change Fund grant to help support our groundbreaking Marginal Activist Publishing Programme! Act for Change Fund is a £3.6 million partnership between Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (working in partnership with the National Lottery Community Fund), for organisations supporting young people working for change. The funding will provide monumental support towards our programme - a unique young-person led publisher which is the first of its kind in the UK.

Act for Change Fund provides resources for young people to challenge social injustice, find ways of overcoming inequality and give voice to issues they’re experiencing. So it’s the perfect fit for the Marginal Activist Publishing Programme which provides a platform with which to elevate and distribute diverse youth voices!

Designed to provide 150 young people a stepping stone with which to overcome trauma and explore a diverse range of issues that stem from their experiences of belonging to a marginalised identity, the Marginal Activist Programme aims to raise the confidence and voices of young people with lived experiences of trauma, mental health and marginalisation.

The programme is open to all young people regardless of race, class, sexuality, or gender identity with a goal of building a united, resilient community in a city that lacks accessible creative spaces. Participants will be supported to learn practical skills in editorial management, developing confidence and significant networks along the way. In utilising art-based activism to open windows to hazard-strewn worlds, the Marginal Activist Publishing Programme encourages marginalised young people aged 14 - 25 to win system level change through professional publishing and direct action campaigns.

Both Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation are acting as match funders in the joint initiative of Act for Change Fund and are awarding grants on behalf of the #iwill Fund. The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to a £40 million joint investment from the National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities.

Big love and thanks from ourselves and our young people to everyone involved in making the Act for Change Fund happen. We’re absolutely over the moon to have secured the grant and are beyond excited to keep pushing forward with the project with such esteemed financial support!