Creative YOUCreativity is everywhere. Opportunity is not. We are part of the solution. The secret is in our name. Every year Creative Youth Network gives thousands of young people a taste and thirst for the arts and culture and the joy, life-skills and opportunity they bring. But we want more. Creative YOU is our campaign showcasing how we, you and the engaged, emerging and amazing young creatives we support, come together. We want to reveal how, together, we are ambition, quality, cultural democracy and social mobility in action. Every young person deserves the right to access creativity and development opportunities in the creative and cultural industries. It all starts with education. If all young people have access to creative subjects in school, then talented young people from all backgrounds can pursue their passion, develop crucial skills needed in so many industries and improve their wellbeing. 1. Pledge Add your name and join the many people passionate about bringing creativity back into our schools. With all the pledges we’ll be reaching out to headteachers in Bristol and the South West. We hope this will encourage local academies to give more space to creativity in their curriculum. Bristol, being the creative city we know and love, can pave the way for other regions to do the same, showcasing the true value of creativity. PLEDGE 2. Sign up Join us by signing up to our newsletter where we share best practice of how to support young people. sign up 3. Find out more Join us by reading and sharing our CreativeYOU report which shows how our work brings opportunities for creative expression and enables young people to explore their talent, regardless of background or circumstance. Download our Creative YOU report About us Equity, diversity and inclusion Standing with those facing hate and hostility At Creative Youth Network, we believe every young person and member of our community has the right to feel safe. Following the recent extremist action against members of our community in Bristol, we have joined other organisations in standing together with those who have been targeted. Read the statement below or visit the growing number of signatories here. Statement regarding the extremist actions in Bristol, 8th August 2024 As representatives of diverse faith and belief communities, as well as secular organisations from across Bristol, we are shocked and saddened by the violence and harassment that has taken place in Bristol and the rest of the UK over the last few days. We stand united in our condemnation of the actions of extremist groups. There is no place in our city for racism, anti-Muslim hate or violence against asylum seekers and refugees. We, the undersigned affirm our collective commitment to peace, compassion, and justice. These extremist actions were sparked by mass disinformation being spread about a tragic incident in Southport. We hold the three children – Alice, Bebe and Elsie – who were killed in Southport, those who grieve them deeply, and all who have been affected by these events, in our heartfelt prayers and thoughts. As a community, we were horrified by the scenes that unfolded last Saturday at Castle Park, outside the Mercure Hotel in Redcliffe and across other parts of Bristol. We stand in solidarity with the people who locked arms at the entrance to the hotel to protect the asylum seekers and refugees from violence. We stand together with thousands of people who gathered yesterday in Old Market to send a clear message that extremism is not welcome in our city. These hate-filled acts of racism and intimidation towards Muslim and refugee and asylum seeker communities are a direct affront to the core values of love, compassion, justice, and the inherent dignity of every human being, that we uphold as a City of Sanctuary. In our rejection of hate and in our shared humanity and faith, we are united in solidarity with each other and in solidarity with the most vulnerable in our society. We stand united with people of every ethnicity and belief. We share the conviction that there is one race, the human race. We stand united with asylum seekers and refugees, as those who are among the most vulnerable in our land. Each of our communities and faiths emphasises this duty of care and service through which we discover the beautiful gift that strangers and newcomers are to us. In the face of it all, we stand firm together as the city of Bristol in all its diversity to reaffirm our commitment to a community where everyone can live free from fear and discrimination, as we look ahead with hope towards working together to heal the wounds of the past. We will overcome the forces that seek to divide us and we will continue to build a city marked by love, compassion, and hope. Signed The Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, Bishop of Bristol Cllr Abdul Malik, Chair of Easton Jamia Mosque & Bristol City Councillor Adeela Shafi, Bristol Muslim Strategic Leadership Group Alex Raikes, SARI (Stand Against Racism & Inequality) Amal Ali and Sedef Ahmad, Muslim representatives, Bristol Inter-Faith Group Caitlin Plunkett, Borderlands Council of Bristol Hebrew Congregation Chrissie Hackett, Bristol Humanists Daisy Pitcher, Housing Matters David Mitchell, Woodlands Church Family Dot Jenner, Westbury Welcome Community Sponsorship Group Gen Kelsang Lamchen, Resident Teacher, Amitabha Kadampa Buddhist Centre George Mazidian, Bahai representative, Bristol Inter-Faith Group Ismaeel Akram, Bristol Muslim Cultural Society Javinder Singh, Sikh representative, Bristol Inter-Faith Group Jo Benefield, Bristol Defend the Asylum Seekers Campaign Katherine Cox, All at Trauma Foundation South West Marina Bielenky, Together with Refugees, Stroud District Mohamed El Sharif, Muslims4Bristol Mohammed Masuk Miah, Bristol Central Mosque Pandit Kamlesh Vyas, Priest of the Bristol Hindu community Pelwatte Dhammananda, Bristol Buddhist Vihara Layla Ismail, Refugee Women of Bristol The Revd Mandy Briggs, John Wesley’s New Room The Very Revd Dr Mandy Ford, Dean of Bristol Mark Coates, Creative Youth Network Rabbi Monique Mayer, Bristol and West Progressive Jewish Congregation Qerim Nuredini, Bristol Hospitality Network Rachael Bee, Director, Refugee Welcome Homes Rani Fernandez, Bristol Community Services, Rethink Mental Illness Fr Richard McKay, St Nicholas of Tolentino Church Richard Drake, Clerk, Bristol Area Quaker Meeting Ronald Mendel, Salaam Shalom The Revd Dr Simon Edwards, Deputy Chair of the Bristol Methodist District Professor Shawn Hailemariam Sobers, Bristol & Bath Rastafari Community Shiv Sama, Avon Indian Community Association and South Glos Multifaith Forum The Revd Sally Spencer, Bristol and South Gloucestershire Methodist Circuit Susana Askew, Bristol City of Sanctuary Tahir Mahood and Zaheer Shabir, Council of Bristol Mosques Terri Fletcher, Home Start Bristol and South Gloucestershire Manage Cookie Preferences How can we help?