Contact, Manchester Young People’s Theatre Ltd
Shortlist – Board Diversity and Inclusivity
Who they are
Contact is where young people change their lives through the arts. It is a vibrant, professional producing theatre and arts venue in Manchester, with young people (aged 13 to 30) driving every aspect of its work. The charity is recognised nationally and internationally as a game-changer in youth leadership; creating new models of arts engagement by fostering talent, building skills and ambition, and making important theatre productions that tour nationally.
What they’ve achieved
Contact has created clear pathways for integrating young people’s involvement, not only as beneficiaries but also as board members. Young people currently fill 4 out of 15 trustee positions, with plans to increase the ratio, and work alongside staff with representation on all working groups to decide artistic programming, make staff appointments and steer the current capital refurbishment. As well as age, the board has achieved diversity of class, profession and LGBT representation.
That diversity in perspectives on the board has helped Contact reach audiences that are neglected by most mainstream arts venues. The charity’s demographics are 71% aged 35 or under, and 30% BAME or from ‘harder to reach’ backgrounds. These statistics reflect Contact’s immediate locality in one of the city’s most disadvantaged wards, but also its extensive, proactive reach into Greater Manchester’s most diverse and youthful communities.
Why they were shortlisted
Commitment to diversity and inclusivity at Contact is led from the top-down: the first openly-gay Lord Mayor of Manchester, Carl Austin Behan (2016-17), was recruited as a board member and President in 2018 because of his own participation in the charity’s work as a teenager and because of his professional experience as Greater Manchester’s LGBT adviser; the charity also recruited the Head of Equality and Diversity at the University of Manchester, Patrick Johnson, as a trustee and benefits from his 12 years of experience.
Judges observed that the involvement of young people at all levels of the charity’s work is a driving force in all that Contact does. All trustees (even the Chair) are interviewed by a panel of young people who participate in the charity’s activities, and their feedback is given as much weight in the decision-making process as the senior management team. Young trustees are recruited from among Contact’s programme participants, and all trustees undergo a rigorous induction and fulfil their responsibilities to a high standard. One young trustee, Reece, has even been appointed to chair one of the working committees. Reece was first introduced to Contact when his school performed on the main stage, ‘I was a 14-year-old black boy from Moss Side, and it was the first time I’d stepped foot in a theatre. Six years later I was on the Board!’ He is enthusiastic about delegating responsibility to those the charity aims to serve, ‘To truly foster talent, we must take risks. Nothing great was ever accomplished in a comfort zone.’
Judges saw strong evidence of the board’s local roots and deep knowledge of the context in which they are operating.
