Flick is on a mission – she is establishing a scheme for young adults to reflect, perform and grow through the spoken word, theatre and stand-up comedy. She is the founder of Youth Impact Studio, a mobile creative coaching practice delivering team development workshops and youth-led programmes. Flick uses creative storytelling as a way of helping people grow and providing opportunities to innovate.
Having formulated her plans, she is now seeking essential funding to launch a pilot project. Her target is £5000 that NatWest bank has generously promised to match fund to bring the pioneering scheme to fruition. “Investing in young people is so important and I feel that they have been let down over the years. We all learn and express ourselves in different ways and giving young people a platform to tell their stories is so powerful. That’s the inspiration behind Youth Impact Studio.”
As a social change practitioner, Flick is adept in forming strategies, designing projects that have a real social impact, and coming up with creative solutions to conflict whilst promoting and highlighting our shared values. Flick has a wealth of experience and knowledge to bring to her new project. She has worked extensively in the UK and has also led on projects in Asia and North Africa where communities have been displaced as a result of disasters. She has vast experience of working and volunteering in third sector organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, higher education, and in the public sector, where she has worked on the front line for 13 years at both a strategic and operational level.
Flick achieved an MA at the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice at Oxford Brookes University having gained her first degree at the University of Brighton. Since then, she has been awarded a diploma in Coaching level 4, and trained in behaviour profiling and is now a fully-accredited business partner with Clarity4D who together believe personality profiling should be for everyone, and that colour creates a common language.
Flick Stuart-Menteath’s
Several impactful initiatives have been launched by Flick: the Triangle Food Project, which promotes social mixing and healthy lifestyles; the Context Human Centred Design, born from her research in the Philippines, introduces a locally-driven approach to understanding gender-based violence risks and prevention needs in humanitarian aid, using values-based assessments. She has since undertaken three research projects in the Philippines, Morocco, and Indonesia, working alongside local grassroot organisations in remote communities significantly disadvantaged following hurricanes, flash floods, and tsunamis. Flick also worked for Kenyon International, responding to the German Wings airplane crash in the French Alps, as well as the Tunisia terrorist attack. She has a keen interest in human rights and social justice and a desire to bring about social change using creative and innovative tools that she designs herself. Flick strongly feels that as humans, we are always at our best when we feel valued and share connection both inside and outside our networks. She loves to build relationships and innovate practice by challenging what we believe we know about ourselves, and this will play a large part in the Youth Impact Studio. “With the pilot project we will be using performance and theatre, in groups of up to 12, bringing young people that have had different experiences in life to the mix,” she says.
The project will offer an eight-week creative coaching and performance programme, bringing together young people aged 15 to 17 from a wide variety of backgrounds to grow together and create a network of trust and connection. The goals are to enable a deeper reflection of self and their impact on others, create a platform for individuals to find their truth and tell their stories in creative ways, challenge perceptions, develop new skills and build confidence in a safe and supported environment.
“The project aims to bring together young people who may have had a challenging upbringing where they may have grown up in care or haven’t quite fitted in with mainstream schooling, with others who may have been presented with more opportunities in life,” Flick explains.
“Social mixing is really important for young people to develop as human beings and learn from each other. We’ll be using performance because it challenges us and breaks down social barriers and can make you come away feeling amazing afterwards – it’s a tough challenge.”
“We are pulling in some of the best-known local artists, comedians, performers and charities to deliver workshops on expression, performance, storytelling, rap, spoken word and music production. Toni Kent, a brilliant author, writer and stand-up performer who’s dedicated to truth, humour and the power of stories will be among those giving workshops. Flick is also teaming up with Audio Active, a ground-breaking music organisation, working with young people
at the meeting point of technology and contemporary urban culture. For them, music is an end in itself as well as a tool for social change, education and personal development.
“At the start of the programme, we will take information from simple psychometric personality profiling and turn that into games from which the young people will learn about themselves and others, helping them to interact. “The programme concludes with their own production that showcases their talent and hard work over the weeks performed and led entirely by them at All Saints Theatre in Lewes, with a special guest appearance at the final show.” This production will hopefully go ahead in April, providing Flick succeeds in finding the funding to launch the project. She is approaching local businesses and organisations to ask for donations which will pay for items such as access to counselling and wellbeing sessions during and after the programme, travel expenses for young people, props, materials, lighting, a sound technician, guest speakers and artists.
Flick hopes to get sponsors to kick-start the project that will create better lives for young people. As one of the rewards, she is also offering team development workshops using her unique approaches to growing and developing people for top sponsors of Youth Impact Studio.
If you would like to get involved or find out more, contact her on
flick@youthimpactstudio.com or visit the website www.youthimpactstudio.com
If you would like to sponsor this project please visit her crowdfunding page:
