We are back with a bang as we head into 2024, as the Fight for Peace Yong Creatives project saw two successful funding bids at the end of last year! New funding from Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) will allow the talented team Young Creatives the opportunity to continue developing and nurturing their creative skills and experience through embarking on a series of new projects.
The incredible project began in April 2021, and the group have been working together to produce digital content for the Fight for Peace channels, including YouTube and social media which tells the story of Fight for Peace through the perspectives of young people. It’s been a real delight to see the creative and professional growth of each individual, as well as other important qualities like confidence and self-esteem.
It goes without saying that we are thrilled to embark on the new year with this generous funding and are excited to see the growth in the team shine through even more!
New projects will vary from visual art, to spoken word poetry and photography, while the NLHF project is purely film-based as Young Creatives will plan, shoot and edit a series of three inspiring documentaries which dive into the talent of several Fight for Peace alumni, who like many have gone on to do great things in sport and in life.
At Fight for Peace, we take great pride in the stories that come through as a result of the ambition and determination of our young members, so it’s a real gift to have such a strong team of creatives who are the perfect fit for capturing these stories, as a means to inspire other young people, as well as positively impact the perspectives of other audiences who may not know much about Fight for Peace, or our community of North Woolwich.
In 2023, we saw the rise of youth-led content on our social media channels, expertly produced by the brilliant Amet, Zaynab, Andrei, Igor, Promise, Daniel and Lily (to name a few!). The content ranged from short interviews to find out more about the views and perspectives of our members around issues we care about (with some fun riddles and light-hearted Q&A’s thrown in), as well as employability ‘tips and tricks’, boxing and martial arts tutorials, home-show coverage and much more!
The team’s work also extended to outstanding film production, as we saw the talented Promise produce and direct a short film alongside teammate, Andrei which highlighted the potential of north Woolwich through an architectural lens. While Mohammedally worked with a small team to produce spoken word video pieces in recognition and celebration of the International Day of Social Justice.
We have also had the pleasure of working with former Fight for Peace member and filmmaker, Aladdin Benberna, who has supported Fight for Peace and the Young Creatives by sharing his breadth of experience and skill, while producing high-quality work, including the debut episode of a new series of podcasts called LutaPod.
The podcast features members of our all-female personal development group, Lutadoras, welcoming inspiring female athletes to discuss some of the barriers women face in sport, and how we overcome them. This series is part of a project funded by Sport England and aims to break down some of the barriers young people face in accessing sport all over the country.
The new project funding will also allow for the work created to take journeys into different spaces with the aim to inspire and educate a wider audience beyond our digital platforms.
Work will be exhibited at the Fight for Peace Academy, local community spaces, and Young Creatives will deliver workshops in schools, showcasing the work while sharing their passion with the next generation, providing them with an insight into the creative career avenues available to them.
It’s fair to say that the Fight for Peace Young Creatives are achieving great things, and we can’t wait to see these new projects roll out, bringing people from all walks of life together to share skills, experiences and stories.
Be sure to keep an eye out across all Fight for Peace platforms to see some of the makings of these projects, and the final outcomes. Head over to our YouTube and Instagram pages to see some of the content produced last year, and don’t forget to show love! Here’s to a creative 2024.
Big thanks to Sport England, Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage Fund for believing in the Young Creatives project, and for supporting our work.
