The programme supports a priority set out in the Government’s recent Culture White Paper to involve young people more effectively in the UK’s culture, both heritage and the arts.
Kick the Dust aims to make heritage relevant and inclusive for 11 to 25 year olds and will allow a consortia of three or more organisations, including heritage and youth organisations, to apply for grants of £500,000 to £1m. Successful applicants will be required to deliver ambitious and sustainable projects focused on increasing the scale and quality of youth engagement with heritage.
HLF has invested in young people for over a decade. Through the Young Roots programme more than 1,700 projects have been awarded £42.5m – exploring everything from Birmingham’s suffragettes and the Geordie dialect to the natural landscape beneath London’s streets. Kick the Dust will build on that success with larger scale, longer-term projects.
Sir Peter Luff, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: “HLF enthusiastically shares the conviction that enabling young people from all backgrounds to establish a deeper relationship with culture will improve their life chances. It will do this by increasing their enjoyment, deepening their understanding of the opportunities on offer, inspiring new thinking about career options and creating valuable educational opportunities outside of the curriculum.
“Thanks to National Lottery players, we’ve seen this working in our Young Roots programme which has demonstrated the incredible energy and enthusiasm young people can bring to heritage. Time and again it’s also shown the benefits for them, from developing new skills and becoming more employable to gaining in personal confidence and authority.”
As part of HLF’s commitment to young people, Kick the Dust will see young people join the programme’s decision making panel and become ambassadors for heritage.
Heritage Minister Tracey Crouch said: “It’s so important that we encourage everyone, especially young people no matter what their background, to explore our nation’s incredible heritage. By offering cultural experiences and educational opportunities, heritage can play a hugely positive role in people’s lives.
Guidance for the programme and how to apply is now available on the Heritage Lottery Fund website. Applicants have until 2 December 2016 to submit a mandatory project enquiry form and will then have until 20 February 2017 to submit an application. Decisions will be made in June 2017.
