The Mohn Westlake Foundation is pleased to contribute to Speak Up, a nationwide programme led by the National Theatre to foster creativity and empower young people in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the UK.

The National Theatre and the Mohn Westlake Foundation share a belief that arts and creativity are vital to young people’s well-being, self-expression, career aspirations and ultimately, their contribution to society. With that in mind, Speak Up, the new three-year, free-to-access nationwide programme will work with young people in some of the most deprived areas of the country to enable positive change in their lives, schools and local communities.

Speak Up is a new project which will build on established relationships with theatre venues around the country to work with young people who have been most affected by the pandemic, through their schools. Groups of young people from each participating school will be free to choose how they respond to a provided provocation. This project is unique in deliberately having open artistic outcomes and project organisers expect to see a broad spectrum of creative responses.

Participants will work with local artists, venues, teachers and the National Theatre, to co-create and shape the approach and content. The confidence, influencing and communication skills developed during the creative process, along with the networks built, will have a legacy in participants’ professional and personal futures.

To learn more about this project, please visit the grantee’s website: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/about-us/theatre-nation-partnerships/speak-up/

Image: Sweetness of a Sting by Chinonyerem Odimba performed by Haggerston School as part of Connections festival 2018