The Agency At Kiln Theatre Helps Make Young People Of Brent's Ideas A Reality

As part of Brent 2020, London Borough of Culture, a Mayor of London initiative, Kiln Theatre's The Agency is a scheme to support young Brent-based entrepreneurs between 15-25 years old develop ideas for social change in their area, turning their passion into a project. Using their needs and desires, research into local community, and support from artists and local networks, the Agents created brand new ideas as potential business plans. Three Agents have been awarded £2000 each to develop their ideas for social change­ - a podcast that tells the story of care leavers, a programme to enable young people to make films about issues affecting them, and an archive of the people in places in Harlesden undergoing regeneration.

The successful business ideas were chosen by an expert panel of Dawn Austwick (Chief Executive, The National Lottery Community Fund and Kiln Theatre Chair of the Board), Jonathan Badyal (Head of Communications, Universal Music), Muhammed Butt (Leader of Brent Council), Indhu Rubasingham (Kiln Theatre Artistic Director), Sydney Sylvah (The Agency Alumni, Battersea, founder of Sydney's Naturals) and Nathaniel Telemaque (St Raphael's Estate resident and artist) - and will continue to be developed with support from industry experts and leaders.

Sancia, a successful Agent said, "Being an Agent makes me feel like a young entrepreneur; encouraged, empowered, and educated enough to take pride in my pain to provide social change within my community. It has given me the opportunity to be a part of a positive community, seeking to make social change for the wider community."

Kiln Theatre has continued to give professional training, support and advice to 22 young people from the London Borough of Brent to make a project that will make a meaningful change to benefit their local community. During lockdown, The Agency Project Manager Gemma Rowan and a team of specialist facilitators continued regular contact, encouraging the young people to think about their communities, to respond creatively to the Coronavirus situation and to develop their business pitches. A number of industry experts and Brent's Blueprint Collective led creative workshops, to hone and help each Agent with their pitch.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council said, "Young people have taken the lead in developing the Brent 2020 programme, no more so than through The Agency project where each and every young person has shared their genuinely inspiring ideas about life in Brent and making change for their generation and beyond. It has been wonderful to hear directly from the Agents about what they want to see and how we can make that happen."

Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, said "Young people are at the heart of Brent 2020 and The Agency is a great example of how our London Borough of Culture programme is sparking creativity across the community. It is brilliant to see these innovative business ideas awarded the funds they need to turn them into reality."

Roisin Feeny, who is based at Battersea Arts Centre and has worked on every Agency programme in the UK said "Brent's young people have innovative ideas, passion, and incredible potential to make positive social change. They are the experts when it comes to solutions for issues that affect them, and we feel privileged to work with these agents and with Kiln to back their initiatives."

Indhu Rubasingham, Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre said, "It was obvious what exceptional hard-work the Agents had put into creating such a varied and impressive set of pitches. They have used their passions and experiences to serve their communities and create social change.

"They are making sure their voices, and the voices of their communities are heard. I want to applaud the tenacity and bravery of every Agent for using their experiences to make a change for good. I can't wait to see what the future holds for each of them.

"It has been a real privilege to learn from the Agency Project and see how it influences us as an organisation. The methodology and the practitioners are deeply awe-inspiring."

Originally conceived by Marcus Faustini in Rio de Janeiro, The Agency UK is a Battersea Arts Centre and Contact programme devised in partnership with People's Palace Projects. It is designed to have a transformative impact on participants. Previous Agents have gone on develop live music enterprises that have reached over 100,000 people, partner with Chelsea Football Club to create innovative English language learning programmes, and work for global consultants Ernst & Young as Careers Consultant for Young People in Care. The Agency in Waltham Forest, London Borough of Culture 2019, was delivered by Blackhorse Workshop, who were then inspired to establish Blackhorse Responders, a new youth programme in creative activism.