OPEN: Applications for Youth Media Leaders Programme
16-19 year-olds in Bolton can apply now to become a Youth Media Leader. The Youth Media Leaders programme, delivered by Youth Leads UK alongside media experts, will give participants the skills and knowledge required to run their own digital media campaigns.
The programme will offer young people the chance to connect with leaders from media companies across the UK, including television, online and print media. Sessions will focus on creating messaging, developing social media campaigns, graphic design and filmmaking.
Youth Leads UK’s Youth Engagement Team will support every young person with their future career planning and help them with their next steps to employment or higher education.
The Youth Media Leaders will come together to design and deliver campaigns on public health issues that matter to them, from encouraging their peers to take up the Covid-19 vaccines to other public health matters such as shisha smoking and mental health.
Supported by Bolton Council’s Public Health Team, the programme also hopes for young people to influence change on a wider scale by working with public health professionals to make healthcare in Bolton more accessible for young people. Each young person will become a Bolton Council Community Champion sharing accurate and trustworthy information with their peers.
Saeed Atcha MBE DL, CEO of Youth Leads UK, said:
“We’re really excited to be running this campaign at a time where we’ve all become quite conscious about public health. This is not just a Covid project; the young people will be creating campaigns about teenage pregnancy, smoking and drugs. Young people know young people the best – it only makes sense that they’re involved in creating these campaigns.”
Dr Helen Lowey, Director of Public Health at Bolton Council, said:
“I am really pleased to be supporting this initiative, where young people will become community reporters discussing the public health concerns that matter most to them. It is more important than ever that young people play a role in shaping our approach to these issues, and in helping to find solutions. It will be a fantastic opportunity for them to use their digital skills and I look forward to seeing the results.”
Young people can apply on the Youth Leads UK website: https://youthleads.uk/yml. Sessions will be in-person and online, and the programme will end in March 2022 with a showcase of campaigns created by young people.
