Neil Griffiths - CEO & Co-Founder, Arts Emergency

For our society to be fair and kind, every young person should have the chance to contribute to the culture they live in. That’s why Arts Emergency is dedicated to levelling the playing field.

Arts Emergency is an award-winning mentoring charity and support network. We help young people from underrepresented backgrounds break into the arts and humanities. Since 2013, we've opened up opportunities in higher education, the media and arts. We now support over 1,000 young people in London, Brighton, Merseyside and Greater Manchester. We provide guidance so they can chart their own course. We create connections to help them get ahead. Our Network members offer crucial gateways into hard to crack industries like TV, publishing and architecture.

We offer 16-18 year olds who are passionate about the arts and humanities a year of free mentoring. Mentors help Young Talent set goals, explore their interests and make decisions about higher education, training and careers.

Our volunteers have signed up to help the next generation of activists, artists and thinkers. They do this by sharing advice, opportunities and contacts. Because of them our young people can choose from a wide range of enriching activities to take part in, like set visits, theatre trips and work experience.

After a young person completes their year of mentoring and turns 18, they get to join our Young Community, where we'll support them until their 26th birthday. Young Community members can make requests for advice from our network, ask for resources and free tickets, and meet other young creatives.