Plan International UK's Young Change Makers
YOUNG CHANGE MAKER GRANT SCHEME
We are recruiting for our 2023/24 Young Change Makers in partnership with Child Friendly Cardiff.
If you live in Cardiff and are passionate about making the city a more equal place, you can apply for £1000 to bring your idea or project to life.
Today we are excited to launch round three of our Young Change Maker Grant scheme with our partner Child Friendly Cardiff.
- Are you passionate about girls’ rights and want to raise awareness of issues facing young women and girls in your community?
- Have you ever been made to feel sad, unsafe, or sexualised because of your gender? Do you want to raise awareness or challenge that?
- Do you think society pressures influence unhealthy relationships? Do you have a project that highlights these issues and challenges behaviours?
- We want to fund young people who are working to empower young men and boys to embrace healthy and positive masculinities.
- Do you want to challenge harmful gender norms?
If this sounds like you then you can find out more about the grant scheme in the easy-to-read information packs below and apply now.
Congratulations!
A huge congratulations to our 2022/23 Welsh young change makers. The 37 young people from 11 youth led funded projects across Wales have made their communities are more equal and safer place for young women and girls.
We celebrated these amazing young people back in April 2023 at the Salesforce tower, where we heard from many of them about their work and its impact through presentations and spoken word. Sector professionals, decision makers and funders gathered to find out more about the grant scheme and meet the young change makers to find out more about their projects. You can also see below what they got up to over the 6 months.
We are so proud to have worked with such passionate young people and we know that Wales is in safe hands with young people like them working for such an important change!
Below are our 2022 and 2021 changemakers.
2022 CHANGE MAKERS
Love your period campaign
Hi! We are Molly and Tilly, Wales’ sisters that founded the Love Your Period Campaign.
The Love Your Period Campaign began in 2019 with an aim of eradicating period poverty and stigma for people in Wales as we watched similar campaigns unfold over the UK. Today we hold a place on the Welsh Government’s Period Dignity and work with councils all over Wales making sure young people’s voices are heard.
We would like to make a change by supporting young people in a wider demographic and providing in person Menstruation Education and focus groups so we can provide the government with a plan that works for the people who need it most.
Bishopton Skate Park Project
Hi, we are Bishopston Skatepark Project, a group of young people aged 11 – 17. Our aim is to provide street sport facilities and activities to young people in rural areas. We host free skate sessions and girls-only skate sessions to teach children essential sports skills in a safe environment. Thanks to our Plan UK funding, we are aiming to recruit more girls, which we are very excited about.
The project’s long-term goal is to build a pump track facility in our local area, completely free to use. We are currently working very hard with our local council to get this done!
We are HOPE
Hello, ‘Hope’ is a group of care experienced girls from Neath Port Talbot. We are passionate about championing girls’ rights by becoming active citizens in our communities. Girls told us that they do not feel safe in public places, and we want to change that.
Our ‘Safe Spaces’ project aims to:
- Raise awareness of the issues girls face in relation to feeling unsafe in public places
- Educate boys and others on girls’ experience of street harassment and other forms of abuse.
- Build confidence and self-esteem amongst girls to be able to talk about harassment and report it.
- Champion the right for girls to go out in public with confidence and not be anxious.
- Increase positive relations with local police and other organisations and raise awareness of street harassment.
Climate Club
I'm Ophelia! A Welsh textile designer and educator based in Cardiff. Through my practice I create educational content, to inform and encourage conversation around climate justice and equality, the over-consumption, waste and psychology of fashion. My textile works also serve as a visual reminder of fashions changing attitude towards sustainability; inspiring others to give old clothes a second chance.
Collaborating with communities, I focus on skill sharing as a powerful tool to explore the complexities of climate change, driving participation and action. Facilitating workshops with local charities and organisations, I demonstrate how simple embroidery techniques can be used to mend and reinvent clothing. Learning to sew is a purposeful activity, that can bring people of different age groups, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds together – giving people the ability to build confidence and practical life skills.
Oasis
Hi there! We are Oasis and our project is about making girls who were made to leave their countries feel welcome in Cardiff by providing them with a space to express themselves and tell us about their lived experiences whilst also taking on new challenges and skills that they would have otherwise not have thought to do. Some activities may be male dominated, whilst others are a chance to unwind, we want to be as inclusive as possible whilst also inspiring talented individuals who may not have had the chance to try new skills.
We want to embolden and empower these young girls to feel like they can accomplish whatever they want in life and help them overcome the hardships they faced before and turn their experiences into their strength.
WOW Workshops
Hello, my name is Erin Sandison, I am 20 years old, and I am from Neath Port Talbot in South Wales. This is my second round of funding from the Change Makers Grant scheme!
I am thrilled that my project, WOW Workshops (which stands for 'Wellbeing of Women'), has been developed further due to funding from Plan UK. My workshops enable young women to attend a series of sessions centred around mental health and wellbeing, creating a safe and secure environment for attendees to discuss personal experiences. Advice and guidance are offered, and participants are able to listen to a variety of guest speakers on a range of different topics, from the benefits of physical exercise on mental wellbeing to the importance of healthy relationships.
Girls for Change
Hi, my name is Eleeza, I am 16 years old and from Cardiff . I am passionate about anything to do with football and debating because It allows me to be myself. Hi, my name is Soanna, I am 17 and am interested in using creativity as a form of expression to bring light to important issues.
Our project hopes to empower girls in my community by giving them a safe space to talk about their mental health and bake some cakes at the same time.
We came up with this idea because baking has been statistically proven to provide escapism for anyone struggling with their mental health and we acknowledge that not everyone has the facilities to bake.
We hope to make mental health a normal topic for young girls and remove the taboo and stigma that comes with it.
Women Breaking Boarders
Our project is mainly targeting young women age 14 till 24. We are focusing on aspects such as education, integrating into society, speaking out, making friends, and breaking any borders women are facing.
Our aim is to help young women find their passion after passing through any unfortunate circumstances which is something really challenging.
Planning trips for young women in the Community and let them get imbedded in the Welsh Community. This is through having historical/educational trips, swimming sessions, motivational talks, English classes, hiking trips, counselling sessions, period essentials, mental health awareness workshops, yoga/spa sessions and many more activities.
Blorod
Hey there! My name is AJ, a 25-year-old from Cardiff. I am a strong advocate of girls and women's rights, currently fighting the pressure of the ever-changing beauty standards, especially the stigmas around Acne.
My project, Blorod, will be a creation of acne-positive artwork shared across Cardiff in the form of posters and digital illustrations. A project which aims to increase acne positivity and support across the city.
I hope that Blorod will reduce the negative impacts and stigma that girls experience from having acne - in school, at home, at work, anywhere!
Her Voice, Wales
Her Voice, Wales are a group of girls aged 13 – 17 from across the Vale of Glamorgan. The project aims to support young people become champions of equality in their local communities, empowering them to change their perception and attitudes towards girls so that they can live free from gender inequalities.
Following from on-going discussion at our meetings on feeling safe in our local community, specifically around lighting and at train stations, members felt passionate about making the Vale of Glamorgan safer for young people. We decided to create a campaign called #WEDONTFEELSAFE, which was created to widen our knowledge of how safe young people in the Vale really felt with the hope that we could raise awareness about public sexual harassment and gender-based violence. We wanted to specifically gain a better understanding of how to tackle cat calling and street safety.
Period Dignity for All
We are Bettws Boys and Girls club, our project is called ‘period poverty’ we aim to raise awareness of period poverty around our local community by hosting a residential with multiple workshops based around period poverty.
2021 Change Makers
Congratulations
To celebrate the project end in December 2021, we hosted an event which brought together our Young Change Makers, their families, Welsh decision makers and representatives from the youth and women's sectors. At the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, all 12 of the young people showcased their work and shared how this project has supported both them and those in their communities to challenge gender inequality.
Congratulations to all of the Young Change Makers on their hard work and brilliant achievements - we look forward to seeing what you all do next!
The Grace Space
Cardiff
Hi, my name is Maddy. I’m 21 years old and have just graduated from Cardiff University with a degree in Human Geography and Planning. My project is called The Grace Space. The aim is to develop a community hub that would serve as a safe space for young women to take a break from the pressures of everyday life, and get the tools and guidance they need to give themselves grace.
My long-term goal is to build a community hub in Cardiff, and the initial funding from Plan International UK will go towards hosting a one day pop-up event for young women later this year.
PSA: Periods
Cardiff
Hi, my name is Yusra, I’m 23 years old and from Cardiff. Hi, my name is Kirstie Edwards. I use the pronouns she/her and am currently living in Cardiff.
Together, we are‘PSA: Periods’, a social media action campaign aiming to promote positive, sustainable and accessible periods. Our campaign raises awareness about the stigma and taboo surrounding periods in minority communities, period poverty and the benefits of using sustainable period products.
With the help of the Plan International grant scheme, we are in the process of writing an informative book about period stories, from first periods to menstrual health and more. The stories will be collected anonymously through our online survey and promoted on our social media channels, which will then be featured in our book.
Vision & Truth
Newport
Hi, we are Isaac (aka ‘Vision’) and Evan(aka ‘Truth) and we are MCs from Newport. Our project aims to create a conscious Hip Hop song from scratch. We will also shoot an accompanying music video, directed by a local filmmaker.
Our song will highlight the need to encourage our families and friends to uplift girls and women.
Girls Play Football Too
Swansea
Hi I’m Lily Poiner, I am 14 years old and I love English Literature and playing the guitar. I play as a defender for Pontarddulais Girls under 16s. Hello, I’m Lydia Appleby, I’m 14 years old and I play in defence for Pontarddulais FC. I love reading and listening to music.
Our project is to renovate the changing rooms in our football club so that they can be used for women as well as men. We are also going to organise an event for the younger girls to inspire them to play football. We plan to video the event and encourage the girls to be strong and challenge inequality!
WOW Workshops & Mantra Cards
Port Talbot
Hello, my name is Erin Sandison. I am 18 years old, and I am from Neath Port Talbot in South Wales.
My project, WOW Workshops (which stands for ‘Wellbeing of Women') will enable young women to attend a series of workshops addressing issues they face around mental health and wellbeing. Advice and guidance will be offered and we will create a safe and secure environment for attendees to discuss personal experience
55 Poems
Newport
My name is Christian Chitava, I am 16 years old, and I live in Newport with my mum and sister. My project ‘55 Poems’ is a collection of short poems that aim to inspire and motivate mums and girls. The idea came from appreciating what my mum and sister do for me every single day and seeing so much bullying and hate on social media.
I hope this project will be a voice for people like me and those who don’t have the opportunity. I also hope it can connect families, schools and communities.
Keep Fit Keep Safe
North Wales
I'm Ellie, I'm 19 years old and from North Wales. Over the past few years, I've been involved in lots of different sports volunteering placements. Most recently, I co-founded Reclaim these Flintshire.
My idea centres around the passion I have for women’s safety and fitness, so I’m working with Plan International UK and Aura Leisure and Libraries to put together a class called ‘Keep Fit Keep Safe’ for young girls and women. The class is aimed at improving fitness while also learning self-defence techniques, so women can keep themselves safe.
Collaboration for a More Equal Nation
My name is Saiba, and I am 18 years old. My project is called ‘Collaboration for a More Equal Nation’ and aims to bring people from different sections of society together to share experiences they have had of gender inequality. We will create an online community where people can provide advice for each other and help improve the communities they live in. I want to create an online forum for discussions around gender inequality. My project will encourage knowledge sharing and highlight the importance of a collaborative approach to advancing women’s rights. I look forward to sharing it with everyone!
Let my people go
Newport
I am Chloe, I am 16 and have been dancing ever since I could walk. I wanted to do this project to show there should be equal opportunities for everyone, including in dance, no matter your gender, age or background.
This is the start of wanting to combat gender equality and make a difference in Dance Leadership for choreographers like myself and other young women. There is a stigma attached that women are the dancers and men the choreographers. As young women in Dance Leadership or as a choreographer, there are major inequalities that hold young women back - gender inequalities, disadvantaged backgrounds and (MLD) Mild Learning Difficulties. It almost makes you feel stifled.