You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Hannah Chukwu and Mya-Rose Craig have been appointed to the joint board of the Creative Industries Federation and Creative England.
Chukwu is an assistant editor at Hamish Hamilton and sits on the board of trustees for university access charity The Brilliant Club. Craig, also known as Birdgirl, is a birder, environmentalist and founder of Black2Nature, which aims to improve access to nature for ethnic minority communities. Her debut book Birdgirl was bought by Jonathan Cape last year following a 14-publisher auction.
The two young board members were selected from over 100 applicants aged 18 to 25. They will work alongside leading figures from across the creative industries, including Dazed Media c.e.o and co-founder Jefferson Hack, Women of the World Festival founder Jude Kelly and BBC director-general Tim Davie.
Their initial appointment will be for a term of one year, with the option to renew for a second year. Throughout this period they will each be paired with an existing board member as a mentor, who will support their work.
Chukwu said she felt “incredibly honoured” to have been appointed. “It will allow me to serve two causes I am so passionate about — supporting the creative industries to thrive and grow, while making sure that young people’s voices are represented in conversations at the highest level,” she said.
“I believe that the creative industries benefit our society in a myriad of ways and I hope to use this opportunity to help include and elevate those across our society who have historically been absent from these conversations.”
Craig said she felt “privileged” to have joined the board. “I hope to use my expertise, dedication and passion in making nature filmmaking ethnically diverse to find sustainable solutions to making the creative sector as a whole ethnically diverse,” she said.
“This includes all the UK’s diverse communities, being supportive of visible minority ethnic (VME) people, engaging young VME people in the debate and encouraging them into the sector. I hope to at times make discussions uncomfortable and in doing so, to challenge the status quo so that real changes occurs."
Caroline Norbury, c.e.o of the Creative Industries Federation and Creative England, added: “I am delighted that Hannah and Mya-Rose have joined our board. They both bring a huge amount of passion and energy, as well as very valuable insights into what really matters to young people in the creative industries. Working alongside our other extraordinarily talented board members, their fresh perspectives and experiences will be vital in shaping and challenging the direction we take in boosting the creative sector.”