Burberry expands support for young people around the world through Burberry Inspire
Burberry today announced that it is expanding The Burberry Foundation’s flagship community initiative, Burberry Inspire, into a global youth empowerment programme to support young people.
Designed in partnership between Burberry Group plc, The Burberry Foundation and global partner, International Youth Foundation (IYF), the expanded Burberry Inspire programme aims to create opportunities for more than 500,000 young people over the next three years to unlock their creativity and drive positive change in their lives and communities.
With a focus on young people aged between 10 and 24, the programme will inspire, equip and elevate their voices by taking a wider and more holistic approach to channelling creativity. Using frameworks defined by the Creative Youth Development National Partnership, the programme will not only foster creativity through the visual and performing arts, but also support STEM-related skills and encourage leadership through both personal development and social engagement.
The expanded programme is supported by eight regional partners including CSV Milano, Community Youth Center (CYC) of San Francisco, Girls Inc. of New York City, Girl Scouts of Japan, Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), Future for Youth Foundation in Korea, New York Edge and a current Burberry Foundation partner, Onside in the UK. Each partner will work closely with young people in their local communities to design and tailor the programme to their respective region. Further partners in additional regions are due to be announced as the programme commences, including in Hong Kong S.A.R., China.
The new Burberry Inspire programme builds on the success of The Burberry Foundation’s flagship community initiative of the same name, which ran from 2018 to 2022. Over those four years, it brought schools in Britain and the United States together with locally renowned arts and culture organisations to explore the positive impact that the creative arts can have on young people’s lives.
Jonathan Akeroyd, Chief Executive Officer at Burberry, commented: “Burberry has been guided by the belief that creativity opens spaces since it was founded more than 160 years ago. Today, with the support of The Burberry Foundation and our partners, we are expanding the Burberry Inspire programme to create more opportunities for young people around the world. By developing their skills and broadening their horizons, together we hope to make a positive difference in their lives as well as the lives of those around them.”
Susan Reichle, President & CEO of International Youth Foundation, added: “At the International Youth Foundation (IYF), we believe all young people possess the potential to transform their lives and create positive change in the world. This fundamental belief is also at the heart of Burberry Inspire. Together with local youth-serving organisations around the globe, we will equip and support young people to unlock their creativity, develop their confidence, share their voices with the world and create the bright future to which they are entitled. If that’s not inspiring, I don’t know what is.”
