CASE STUDY: Young People Take the Lead in Governance
Blaze began as a London 2012 Olympic Legacy project, operating cultural programmes that were led by young people from conception to completion. In 2018 Blaze applied to become a registered charity, led by myself, founding Director Matt Wilde, aged 24. As Blaze supports young people’s involvement in decision-making at all levels of the cultural sector, it was important that we led by example and put this at the heart of the organisation. We interrogated what we meant by ‘youth-led’ and formed a constitution which stated that young people aged under 30 would lead Blaze Arts CIO at all levels, including the board of Trustees. We visioned a three-year strategic plan aiming to develop the next generation of cultural producers.
