The problem isn’t talent, it’s infrastructure.
Let’s be clear, lack of talent isn’t the problem.
Every day, we work with young people bursting with creativity, perspective and ambition. But if you’re from an underserved background, talent alone isn’t enough.
In the UK, the creative industries are some of the most unequal in the country. They rely on unpaid work, closed networks and culturally exclusive spaces.
This isn’t just a pipeline issue, it’s a structural failure—one that continues to exclude working-class, global majority, neurodivergent and care-experienced youth from even entering the conversation.
At Diverse Voices, we’re building the missing infrastructure.
Through our Creative Access & Progression work, we:
Mentor and pay emerging creatives with lived experience
Provide access to creative training and pathways for youth from underserved communities
Offer long-term support, not just one-off workshops
Develop original youth-led projects across film, theatre and education
Create safe, supported spaces to thrive—not perform
This is about more than “diversity.” It’s about equity, justice and creative liberation.
We believe:
✅ Lived experience and youth-led practice should be the standard
Through our Creative Access & Progression work, we:
Mentor and pay emerging creatives with lived experience
Provide access to creative training and pathways for youth from underserved communities
Offer long-term support, not just one-off workshops
Develop original youth-led projects across film, theatre and education
Create safe, supported spaces to thrive—not perform for engaging young people
✅ Representation should be structural, not symbolic
✅ Young people don’t need to be “fixed”, systems do
We’re not waiting to be invited into the room, we’re building new ones.
DVSS (Diverse Voices of Stage and Screen) is our flagship creative development programme for young people aged 11–16, who are full of potential but routinely excluded from formal creative pathways.
Running weekly in Walthamstow Library, DVSS is completely free of charge and designed to provide structured progression for emerging talent.
🗓 The programme runs across two terms:
Term 1: Skills Training- Focused on building acting ability while nurturing transferable skills like confidence, communication, teamwork, creativity and self-expression.
Term 2: Devising & Industry Masterclasses- Participants use their new skills to devise an original short film based on a topic they care about, supported by industry masterclasses from working professionals.
💬 Recent sessions have been led by practitioners like Leonie Elliott (Call the Midwife, Diverse Voices trustee), offering real insight into performance, professionalism, and navigating the industry as a global majority artist.
DVSS is about more than training, it’s about empowering the next generation. It’s about changing who gets to shape the stories we see on screen and stage.
If you're a creative organisation, funder, policymaker or producer, let’s talk about how we can do this differently, together.
Visit our website www.diversevoices.co.uk 📩 Email info@diversevoices.co.uk to speak with us directly.
Diverse Voices of Stage and Screen (DVSS) is a bold new chapter in our commitment to inclusive, high-impact youth arts education initiatives. By investing in young people’s creativity now, we’re shaping a future where every voice is heard – and every story has a stage.
