BBE has been awarded £15,000 from Youth Music to support the development of Youth Voice in its programmes. Youth Voice, which refers to the views, ideas and motivations of young people as a collective body, will become more embedded in all aspects of the organisation’s work, thanks to the grant from the ‘Trailblazer Fund’, backed by the National Lottery via Arts Council England.
The grant is designed to support organisations looking to work with children and young people facing barriers to make, learn and earn in music, through innovative projects that test, trial or break the status quo.
BBE CEO Kenny Crookston commented: “The Youth Voice work we have planned, funded by Youth Music, is a vital step towards BBE achieving our aim to ensure the brass band sector is an inclusive place to be, with young people engaged in a range of ways and their voices heard.
“In addition to upskilling our staff team and trustees in this area, we will be launching a new Youth Voice Working Group made up of interested individuals and organisations in the sector, as well as advertising for young trustees to join the Brass Bands England board.”
Get involved
Those wanting to register their interest in joining the Group should do so using the Youth Voice Working Group application form. The deadline for submitting expressions of interest is 9.00am on Monday 31 July. If selected, attendance would be required for four meetings a year (September, December, March, June) held over Zoom on an evening or weekend suitable to the participants.
BBE are particularly looking for expressions of interest from:
- Young people (25 or under) currently engaged in brass banding
- Leaders in youth brass banding organisations
- Individuals with working experience in 'Youth Voice'
Applications for Young Trustees will open in autumn 2023.
Any questions about this opportunity can be directed to jess@bbe.org.uk.