Voices of Colour - Shaping a Generation of Leaders

Growing up in a space where you feel that your voice does not matter is soul-destroying. 

As you try to find your own sense of self during your teens and begin to understand the world around you, it can be disheartening to realise that there is not much exposure to women from an ethnic background that are changemakers, pioneers, rebels and leaders. Women who look like you, who have similar experiences and share a cultural bond that needs no explaining. 

During the past few months, we have listened to many stories of young South Asian girls who have expressed that: 

We also found that:

1. Lack of Role Models & Representation

Only 36 (3.6%) of the 1000 most powerful people in Britain are from ethnic minorities and just 0.7% of them were BAME women. This lack of role models and exposure to successful women from different backgrounds and sectors can have an impact on aspirations for younger generations (Operation Black Vote) 

2. Many girls wanted to tackle issues in their communities but were not sure where to start

Many told us that they felt that they lacked the confidence and skills to enact real change in the areas that they live in. 

There was also a consistent theme in terms of areas they wanted to focus on, such as:

• Mental Health
• Discrimination
• Food Poverty
• Social Isolation 

So, after several focus groups, interviews and insight sessions, Voices of Colour was created. 

Voices of Colour empowers underrepresented female changemakers and leaders 

It's a transformative community action movement which places the voices of these girls at the heart of creating meaningful and long-lasting change. 

South Asian Girls aged 15 to 18 on the programme are first supported to develop their leadership skills, through different social issue based projects important to their community. Much like Year Here is a development programme for professionals, by starting at this key age, Voices of Colour offer personal development through their own community action programmes. Girls are then matched with mentors — women from South Asian backgrounds who are change makers and leaders in their own right — and set on the path to becoming the next generation of social leaders. 

Our Impact So Far...

We recently launched a virtual pilot version of our programme with a group of 7 young south Asian girls, where they helped to co-develop the content to the vision of what Voices of Colour aims to achieve. Meet our first ever class of 2020! 

After attending our 5 week programme, the girls told us that:

• They felt more confident in themselves to make the change they want to see in their communities 
• Were able to increase their understanding of the community and engage with local leaders, residents and organisations 
• Emphasised how they were never going to underestimate their role in society and the power their voices can have on brining about positive change 

Why your support matters: 

• So far, I’ve worked with seven girls and with your financial support, I’ll be able to continue developing the programme for 30 more girls 
• That’s the future of 30 girls that you’ll be helping to make a real change in improving their lives and future prospects
• We want to be able to support as many young girls as we can through this programme and support them on their journey to realise the power that they hold to shape their futures 

Hi, I'm Indy & I'm the founder of Voices of Colour

I'm passionate about working with young people. 

Supporting them to realise their potential is at the heart of everything I do. 

I've spent the last 6 years working in the youth sector and leading youth programmes across the UK.

Voices of Colour is the next stage in my journey to support underrepresented voices that need to be heard.

Please support us on our journey to creating change for these girls who should be able to feel safe and heard when expressing themselves. 

Their voices matter, their experiences matter and representation matters more than ever!

If you have any questions about the programme or would like to be part of our journey, please contact - [email protected] 

Thank you,

Voices of Colour

Follow us on Instagram - @voiceofcolouruk

Twitter - @voicesofcolour1

(NB: A 4.75% levy will be applied to donations, to help cover TFN/Year Here's costs of supporting venture fundraising and administering the funding)