Uprising

What is Up Rising?

Up Rising is a new organisation being developed by the Young Foundation in response to a widespread concern that in many parts of Britain young people from marginalized communities lack routes into positions of leadership and power - whether in politics and the public sector, or in business and the third sector. The programme will identify, recruit, develop and support a group of young people from white working class communities, ethnic and religious minority communities to enable them to take part in politics and public decision-making processes.

What is the need?

There is now abudant evidence that young people from marginalised communities are under-represented in decision making processes and positions of influence within British society. The routes that once helped to find and nurture leaders - like the churches and trade unions - no longer do so to the same extent. The main political parties have shrunk. The average age of local councillors is now 58 and quangos are largely dominated by middle class, and middle-aged professionals. Many people feel cut off from power as never before, particularly in white working class communities and some ethnic and religious minority communities.

Up Rising seeks to change this. Up Rising will build the skills and capacities of talented young volunteers (20-25 year olds), particularly those from ethnic and religious minorities and white working class communities, to form a network of future public leaders. We will find young people who have the energy and commitment to make a difference - through events, media and references - and we will help them to understand how to make change happen, and how to access the levers of power - in politics, business and the public sector, including representative roles. Our medium term aim is to ensure that more of Britain's urban areas have leaderships that truly represent their ethnic, class and age makeup - and that can truly inspire and lead them.

How will Up Rising work?

Up Rising aims to provide a combination of diverse learning experiences in a coherent whole. By going through these experiences and reflecting on the process, the participants coax out the leaders that lie within themselves. This will take place over a one year period. The different learning elements of Up Rising are below:
- Residential Training
- Community Projects
- Skills training sessions
- Peer to peer support
- Mentoring
- Learning visits
- Leadership Shadowing
- Networking events
- Reflection

The Pilots

We aim to pilot the project in three areas (Tower Hamlets & Newham, Barking and Dagenham, and Oldham) in 2008 and 2009. Our aim is to steadily extend the programme's reach throughout the major urban areas of the UK. The pilot will involve working with 60 young people; 20 from each of the pilot areas between the ages of 19-25years. We are designing and implementing the pilot to ensure the model of leadership development can be easily replicated nationally. We have received financial support from the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and from the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham to support the development of the pilots.

We aim to start recruiting the first cohort for Up Rising from January 2008 to start the pilot in April 2008.

For more information on Up Rising, contact femi.longe@youngfoundation.org