The Agency Of Change Launches As Independent Charity

The Agency of Change, a creative entrepreneurship organisation that enables 15 to 25 year-olds from underserved areas to develop business ideas that generate and lead social change projects, has announced that it has launched as an independent charity, led by the very people it has worked with over the last decade. As it celebrates 13 years, The Agency has reached more than 41,000 people across the UK, worked with over 900 young people and supported over 250 youth-led social enterprise projects addressing challenges including knife and gang crime, mental health, loneliness among care leavers, unemployment and negative perceptions of communities. Cultural leader Saad Eddine Said has also been announced as the new Chair of the Board.

The Agency programme is based on an enormously successful initiative by Brazilian theatre maker, activist and journalist Marcus Faustini established in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and inspired by theatre practice. Using government data to locate underserved areas, The Agency reaches out to young people who identify a social need in their community, design solutions and pitch their ideas to a panel of industry experts. Each year successful ‘Agents' are awarded funding and mentorship to start their project and are supported to realise their ability and power to make a difference.

The Agency model was brought to the UK through a partnership between Battersea Arts Centre, Contact and People's Palace Projects/Queen Mary University of London. The theatre partners are now stepping back, as The Agency becomes an independent charity, marking the next phase of its evolution. Former Agents will now help to lead the charity in the role of Trustees as The Agency of Change continues to expand its vital work building a future where youth-led innovation drives systemic change.

The work of The Agency is delivered and adapted by local organisations, and can transfer to any location. The Agency of Change heavily commits to each area it serves, providing investment and long-term support. This year there are 20 projects currently running, across Belfast, Bolton, Chester, London, Manchester and Southampton with respective partner organisations New Lodge Arts, Octagon Theatre, Storyhouse, Battersea Arts Centre, Contact and Energise Me. These include The People's Outdoor Cinema - an affordable cinema experience for families, encouraging discussion and showcasing local film-makers; No Blade - providing educational services and workshops to prevent knife crime; Project Breakout - recreating online games into real life games and a final tournament to reduce social isolation; Crowned Roots - sharing the art of Afro hair braiding, inspiring and developing practical skills and confidence to turn talent into long-term employment; Manny Cutz - sharing barbering skills and teaching others to become a skilled barber; Newlight Networks - a youth group helping teens cope with addictions and leading to the creation of a public mural. The full list of current projects can be found here

This year, The Agency of Change has supported the establishment of a new programme in Colima, Mexico. Run by LAPSO (Laboratory for Peace and Social Justice), the NGO is helping to foster community-led collective action for peace working in one of the world's most violent cities. A cohort of 21 young agents across Colima participated in the first cycle of the Agency programme and two projects are now being made a reality. Agent Hanna's rotating forum brings together women from the affluent north and the underserved south of the city to create a new network to empower women living in a historically machista society. Agent Aurora is creating a book for and by Colima's youth to reappropriate their cultural heritage, celebrate pre-Hispanic traditions and strengthen social cohesion through forgotten roots.

The appointment of Saad Eddine Said to the role of Chair of the Board also marks a new chapter for The Agency of Change. Saad Eddine Said is a cultural leader and author of RETURN, a blueprint for transforming institutional leadership through permanent citizen-led decision-making. As CEO and Artistic Director of New Art Exchange, he led the organisation to become the first cultural institution globally to embed a Citizen Assembly in its governance. He is also the architect of BRIDGE, an international framework connecting artists and institutions, and serves as Co-Director and Co-Founder of Citizens in Power and Co-Chair of Contemporary Visual Arts Network England.

Saad Eddine Said, Chair of the Board, The Agency of Change said: “Over the past decade, The Agency of Change has shown what happens when young people are trusted with real responsibility and supported to lead. The task ahead is to embed that trust structurally, so that young people's voices and decision-making are not dependent on a project or funding cycle, but become part of the cultural infrastructure of our towns and cities. In 13 years' time, we should see alumni shaping policy, leading institutions and mentoring the next generation, with The Agency recognised not simply as a programme, but as a national framework for intergenerational leadership. As Chair, my role is to steward that long-term vision, ensuring the organisation remains bold in its values while resilient and independent in its future.”

Henrietta Imoreh, Trustee of The Agency of Change and Alumni Agent said: “I entered The Agency lacking confidence, tools and stability. Receiving funding and support gave me power for the first time, the power over my story, my project and how I wanted to create change. I'm now proud to serve as a trustee, helping to ensure other young people – so often excluded from opportunities – have the same chance to shape their futures and create change.”

Aaron Omotosho, Trustee of The Agency of Change and Alumni Agent said: "Joining the Board of Trustees feels like a natural next step in a journey from when I first became an Agent. The Agency programme invests in young people as leaders, and I'm proud to now help shape an organisation that has played such an important role in shaping who I am."

Tarek Iskander, Artistic Director, Battersea Arts Centre said: “Battersea Arts Centre was proud to bring The Agency to the UK, inspired by a powerful model and a belief in young people as creative leaders. Seeing The Agency of Change now launch as an independent, youth-led charity is a moment of real pride and a testament to the strength and sustainability of the model.”

Marcus Faustini, founder of the original Brazilian programme, said “The Agency was born from a belief that young people are not problems to be solved but creators of new futures. What began in the favelas of Rio was an invitation for young people to recognise their potency and act on it. Seeing my idea travel across countries and cultures, and now stand as an independent movement in the UK, is a powerful reminder that creativity and courage can transform communities anywhere.”

Paul Heritage, Artistic Director of People's Palace Projects said “What Marcus Faustini created in the favelas of Rio was not a local solution to a local problem, it was something the world needed to see. A proof that young people facing the sharpest edges of inequality are not in need of rescue; they are generators of change. The Agency becoming independent, led by the very people it was built for, is not a surprise to us. They are no longer the future of this movement, they are running it."

Jack Dale-Dowd, CEO of Contact said:  “Over the past 13 years, projects developed by Agents have addressed inequality, isolation, mental health and crime, with those with lived experience key to the driving factors. The Agency feels incredibly local, it speaks to all of our values and those of the communities we work with, it also opens a network that spans nationally and internationally, connecting Agents in a way that is hopeful, ambitious and so meaningful.”