On the 17th of December 1999, the United Nations declared the 12th of August as ‘International Youth Day’. UNESCO believes that young people are essential to finding solutions to the issues in the world today. They must be given the opportunity to engage in social development, and be supported in this work by their communities.
In 2024, we worked with our Youth Advisory Board to co-curate an exciting programme of youth-led celebrations. Together, we wanted to:
- Provide opportunities for young creatives to meet and make meaningful connections – in Nottingham and around the world;
- Showcase some of the amazing opportunities Nottingham has to offer young creatives;
- Demystify how to start a career in the Creative Industries.
International Young Writers Roundtables with Cities of Literature Network
International Youth Day 2024 kicked off with two online roundtables for emerging young writers from our global network of UNESCO Cities of Literature. In total, 16 young writers from 13 Cities of Literature took part in these important discussions about what it means to be a young writer in a City of Literature.
Participants discussed their creative journeys, ongoing projects, and exchanged insights with their counterparts from diverse cultural backgrounds. It was striking to hear the shared experiences of young writers across the continents and we left feeling inspired by lots of exciting ideas for the future.
Take a look at the word clouds below for a flavour of the two discussions. You can find out more about the writers and cities who took part in these online discussions here.
Local celebrations at Nottingham Central Library
With our amazing Youth Advisory Board, we also organised an action-packed day of celebrations at Nottingham Central Library on Saturday 10th August, 12pm – 4pm. The day gave young creatives an opportunity to connect and celebrate with one another. Tickets were free and the day’s programme featured a whole host of exciting activities.
12pm – 4pm: Creative Marketplace
An exciting market filled with stalls, activities and opportunities from arts organisations and young creatives! Thank you to the following organisations and individuals for joining us at the Creative Marketplace and organising some wonderful free activities for everyone to enjoy.
1pm – 2pm: Getting Into Creative Careers
Our panel of young creatives from a range of artistic disciplines discussed accessing the Creative Industries and building their careers. This gave the audience a chance to hear from and put their burning questions to some of Nottingham’s rising stars who are making waves in the local artistic scene. Head over to our blog where you can read up on our panellists’ insights from the perspective of University of Nottingham placement student, Ruehie Jaiya Karri: Young Creatives Spill the Tea: Navigating the Arts Scene in Nottingham.
Our thanks go to the wonderful young creatives for being part of this panel and sharing their invaluable insights.
- Elle Jacobson, Chair of our Youth Board and published poet
- George Nash, fingerstyle guitarist and film composer
- Cara Thompson, writer, performer and artivist
- Sophie Jane Corner, actor – performer
Chaired by Annie Cross, Vice Chair of Nottingham City of Literature’s Youth Advisory Board and Nottingham Slamovision Champion 2023.
3pm – 4pm: Showcase and Open Mic
We welcomed over 10 young poets and musicians to the mic to share their talent in front of a supportive audience. For some it was the first time they had ever performed poetry in public. Thank you to everyone who took to the stage and showed us that Nottingham has talent!
Find out how we celebrated International Youth Day in 2023
Read more