The Empowering Young People as Cultural Decision-makers in Leicestershire Project was a three-month research investigation that examined how Leicestershire County Council can better support young people aged 16-21 to participate in shaping arts, cultural, creative, and heritage offerings, with a focus on equitable involvement in governance and decision-making across key Council areas.
The Empowering Young People as Cultural Decision-makers in Leicestershire Project was part of the strategic creative, heritage, and policy impact partnership between the 海角黑料 (UoN) and Leicestershire County Council.
The project featured seven final-year students in the Department of Cultural, Media and Visual Studies within the School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies who undertook research commissioned by Culture Leicestershire (CuL).
CuL comprises the Heritage, Museum Collections, Library and Cultural Participation Services at Leicestershire County Council. CuL is responsible for Leicestershire’s cultural provision, creative activity, and heritage work.
Undertaken between September and December 2025, this project researched ways in which CuL could support young people across Leicestershire to engage in co-shaping the planning and delivery of arts, cultural, creative, and heritage offerings in the county.
In doing so, project students undertook in-depth research that examined CuL's current youth engagement and communication strategies and compared these to comparable models undertaken by other county councils nationally.
This wide-ranging, timely, and insightful research offered project students distinctive and wide-ranging professional development competencies and skills coveted by graduate job employers.
The project also provided students with first-hand experience of working on an exciting and real-world project at the intersection of higher education, the heritage sector, the digital media industries, and local government context.
What Empowering Young People as Cultural Decision-makers in Leicestershire involved
At the heart of this exciting and informative research project was this central question:
How can young people aged 16-21 equitably engage in the governance and decision-making processes of Leicestershire County Council’s Heritage, Collections, Library and Participation Services?
At the time of this research, strategic leaders and key officers at Culture Leicestershire (CuL) showed commitment to ensuring that local people have the opportunity to access, engage with, and shape high-quality, relevant cultural and creative offerings and heritage activities.
In particular, CuL were focused on those who are currently excluded or under-represented due to their age, ethnicity, identity, cultural background, sexuality, and socio-economic status among other factors.
Of all these people, CuL’s focus was - and still is - on young people.
In order to truly serve and reflect the interests, needs, and aspirations of the residents of Leicestershire, CuL understood - then and now - that strategic leaders and key officers must address how young people are able to properly engage with CuL as a Service.
CuL were very keen, and continue to be so, to find out how they can ensure that the voices of young people are heard, that their views are respected, and that their lives are reflected in what CuL do as a Service.
With this background and context in mind, CuL commissioned this research to help them to find out how best to achieve the goals outlined above.
During the winter of 2025, the seven students working on this research project:
- mapped current cultural and creative engagement activity available for young people and offered by CuL and partners
- researched young people’s uptake of the cultural and creative engagement opportunities available to them and identified where gaps were
- gathered direct feedback, observations, and experiences from a selection of CuL’s governance partners
- consulted with relevant CuL staff to understand CuL’s strategies on and around engagement and communication with young people
- processed, analysed, and delivered the findings (including recommendations) on and around activity development and approach for CuL in two group oral presentations - the first one to peers at the 海角黑料, and the second one, to strategic leaders and key officers at County Hall Leicestershire
Facilitation of Empowering Young People as Cultural Decision-makers in Leicestershire
This project was facilitated and supervised by the following committed, expert and nurturing inter-organisational staff team:
- Daniel H. Mutibwa (Associate Professor of Creative Industries and Digital Culture, School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies, 海角黑料)
- Amanda Hanton (Cultural Participation Team Manager, Culture Leicestershire, Leicestershire County Council)
- Savita Vaid (Founder and Managing Director of Go-Getta CIC)
- Pippa Vidal Davies (Volunteering Manager, Culture Leicestershire, Leicestershire County Council)
Placement student feedback
Here is some feedback provided by project students on their research experience.
It has been a pleasure working alongside [staff] in this project over the last few months. I really did enjoy the whole process and learned a lot; if possible, I would like to stay on and help out for the remainder of my time at the university. I think it is imperative to involve young people in all communities, and I would like to help where I can.
Working on this project with Leicestershire County Council and Culture Leicestershire has been a thoroughly rewarding experience. It has allowed me to explore the richness of local cultural heritage while contributing to a project that brings together community, creativity, and young people. This opportunity has strengthened both my academic interests and my passion for community-focused cultural work.
I am so unbelievably proud of everyone I had the honour of working with and hope our project helps Culture Leicestershire. What they are doing is truly inspiring and I wish them all the best. This project was so fun and rewarding and I can’t thank everyone enough for allowing me to be a team player.
Thank you for giving me great guidance throughout this project. I really appreciate it.
Thank you again for the hard work that I’m sure went into organising this [the group oral] presentation with CuL. I was happy to [have been a part of it] and had a great time!
Thank you for all your amazing support.
Thank you very much for everything!