Your Heritage Your Future

‘Your Heritage Your Future’ offers a unique opportunity for museums and heritage projects across the East Midlands and East of England to develop sustainable youth programmes and diversify their workforce. It is delivered by YMCA Leicestershire and Norfolk Museums Service, who have made a significant impact in their work with young people aged 11-25, many of whom would not previously have accessed heritage.

Free Training: I’m a Teenager… Get Me Into There!

This is the perfect training opportunity for people working within cultural and heritage venues including front of house, customer service and volunteer teams.  It aims to support public-facing staff to feel more confident in their interactions with young people and better able to create a welcoming, inclusive environment for the young people they invite into their building.  This training supports Your Heritage Your Future by helping you to become a more informed workforce and to offer diverse programmes that include young people.

Training dates: Leicester Museum & Art Gallery 11th Jan 2024/ Ely 10th Jan 2024

Contact: Juliet, Strategic Lead for East Midlands, [email protected]

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Heritage that works for young people
Young people that work for heritage

Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and lottery players, we began a new programme of work in 2022 called Y Heritage Legacy. This has created paid employment for young people within local heritage projects and includes training and support for the employers. We are sharing learning and best practice through the introduction of the Youth Heritage Charter and we also formed our Heritage Youth Forum, bringing together residents from across YMCAs in the central region.

123 young people engaged in local heritage

Launched in 2018, our three year Y Heritage Project uniquely put young people at the centre of commissioning and participating in local heritage projects.  Young people received training to participate in six Dragon’s Den style funding rounds, awarding a total of £258,805 between 15 local projects all together.

Some fantastic heritage projects have been brought to life and young people enjoyed rich work experience opportunities which all projects provided. Heritage organisations have also learnt how to engage with vulnerable young people, which will have a lasting impact for future generations.

With thanks to National Lottery Players for their support, without them projects such as Y Heritage could not happen.

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Jimmy

"I was forced onto the streets, sleeping in abandoned buildings, cold and hungry, kipping on a mate’s sofa."

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