Waltham Forest Arts Against Extremism
The initiative has been created in partnership with organisations including the Home Office, Waltham Forest Council and the Arts Council. It will support people aged 16 – 21 to become activists, flooding social media with messages and art promoting their local community. The deadline to register to get involved is 10 November.
Councillor Sharon Waldron, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Cohesion, said: “All too often our media space is filled with extremist rhetoric. There is a clear need for positive messages and a counter-narrative.
“I’d urge any young person interested in becoming a voice for social change to sign up before 10 November.”
Volunteers will receive training in using social media and dealing with opposition online. They will then create films, some of which will be developed by producers at world-famous communications agency M&C Saatchi and screened at the 2018 Walthamstow Film Festival.
Jevelle Hibbert, a local 16-year-old who has already signed up, wants to encourage others to join him and get involved: “This programme will be a step towards making Waltham Forest a more positive place to live, the air a little bit clearer and the world a safer place. I believe that the younger generations have the skills to tackle this.”
Walthamstow resident and anti-female genital mutilation (FGM) campaigner, Hibo Wardere, is supporting Arts Against Extremism: “I am very excited to work on this pioneering project,” she said. “It recognises the wider harms of extremism, including FGM, and aims to engage youth in becoming a positive voice that stands up against it. I will be following the project’s every move online and supporting it wherever I can.”
To apply for a place on the programme, please complete the Arts Against Extremism application form .
For further information
Contact Charlotte Littlewood
Community Coordinator (Counter Extremism), Early Help Division
London Borough of Waltham Forest
Tel: 020 8496 5375 | Ext 5375
Mob: 07976436739
Email: charlotte.littlewood@walthamforest.gov.uk