Edinburgh International Festival Launch Cultural Leaders Mentor Programme

In celebration of its 70th anniversary, the International Festival is delighted to launch a new professional development initiative for emerging cultural leaders.

The International Festival Mentor Programme will give first hand experience of the skills required to run an international performing arts event and offer an opportunity to work alongside some of the world's greatest artists.

The scheme is open to practitioners who are originally from or resident in Scotland, and is aimed at ensuring that talented individuals from all over the country have the opportunity to harness the International Festival's unique position to further develop careers.

The mentee will work closely with International Festival Director Fergus Linehan and Managing Director JoAnna Baker, gaining insights into areas such as programming, cultural policy, governance and fundraising at one of the world's greatest cultural events.

This programme has been made possible by a generous donation from Sheila Colvin. Sheila has held major cultural roles in Edinburgh and internationally, moving from a career in television and theatre production, to being involved in the foundation of the Traverse Theatre, and later joining the International Festival as Associate Director, before becoming Director of the Aldeburgh Music Festival.

The programme will run for three years, taking place over the 2017, 2018 & 2019 Festivals, with one mentee selected for each of the three festivals. Each mentee will be engaged by the Festival on a full time basis for one year, receive an annual salary and will have the costs of travel to other festivals and events covered.

International Festival Director Fergus Linehan said: 'We're really excited to announce this new programme, especially in our 70th anniversary year. It's really important that we can share the wealth of expertise and experience which exists within the International Festival team, so that we can best support the next generation of cultural leaders in Scotland who will take this Festival and other organisations forward in future years. I'm really looking forward to meeting our new mentees and getting cracking on working with them'.

Applications for the International Festival Mentor programme are now open at eif.co.uk/jobs. It is anticipated that the first Mentee will start in late June 2017.

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