THE FUTURE OF COLOURS YOUTH NETWORK
THANK YOU FOR HELPING US TO REACH AND EXCEED OUR 50K TARGET
What we're raising the money for
Colours Youth Network previously sat within white led organisations, this is the beginning of us building independently and taking ownership of the support provided for young Black and people of colour who are LGBT+ (QTIBPOC)
Colours Youth Network (coloursyouthuk) supports young Black and people of colour who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex (QTIBPOC) to explore and celebrate who they are through meaningful connections to other young people and a team of experienced QTIBPOC youth workers.
Our vision is to ensure that across the UK every LGBT+ young person of colour has access to a local provision and support that is led by LGBT+ people of colour.
Colours Youth Network believes in the importance of creating spaces where young QTIBPOC’s racial, cultural, spiritual, and religious identities are centred.
History
Over the past 4 years Colours Youth Network has supported young people from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but this is just the beginning, we want to do long term sustainable work that builds a legacy in the UK. Colours has been nominated for National Diversity Awards and is currently British LGBT Awards top 10 Community and Charity Initiatives. Vote here: https://bit.ly/3feaIhd
Core Events
Colours Youth Festival is a day long event that invites over 100 young LGBT+ people of colour to enjoy a day of workshops, talks and activities led by QTIBPOC practitioners.
Colours Youth Residential is a 3 day overnight stay, where young people from cities across the UK enjoy outdoor activities, nature and workshops together, led by QTIBPOC practitioners.
What young people say!
Colours Youth Festival was genuinely one of the best days of my life, because it showed me that I was allowed to exist as I am, that I was allowed to celebrate myself, and most importantly, that there were others like me who could understand the journey I thought I had to take alone. I've been carrying around so much shame and hopelessness for years - when I got on that train to Manchester, I never expected that one single day full of laughter and celebration would peel away so much of that burden. The sense of community I felt during the festival is what I've wished for for so long, and I'm going to hold on to that feeling of togetherness when I go back to my home.
Who is the team behind Colours Youth Network
Suriya Aisha (She/Her)
Artist, Activist and Cultural Producer, Suriya has worked with young people for the last 10 years. Championing accessibility she's passionate about centring care in all her work. A two time TEDX speaker, she's focused on shining a light on under-represented voices. She's the founder of Birmingham LGBT+ POC network @unmutedbrum, host of upcoming podcast @sickbabepod and papa to Birmingham's first ballroom house, House of Bab!
@suriyaaisha
Sabah Choudrey (They/Them)
Reluctant activist on most things trans, brown and hairy. Proud trans youth worker since 2014, trustee of Inclusive Mosque Initiative since 2020 and psychotherapist in training. Sabah co-founded Trans Pride Brighton in 2013 and made The Rainbow List in 2015, celebrating 101 of the most influential LGBT people in Britain. Sabah has published ‘Inclusivity: Supporting BAME Trans People,’ and has built a presence across UK and Europe, speaking at TEDx Brixton 2015, ILGA Europe 2016, IDAHOT Brussels 2017, Malmö Pride 2017/18/20 about intersectionality, identity and inclusion.
Facebook ‘Sabah Choudrey’ | Twitter @SabahChoudrey | Instagram @sabah.c |sabahchoudrey.com/link
Chloe Cousins (she/her)
Chloe is a highly experienced youth worker and community organiser currently leading on Greater Manchester's programme for LGBTQ+ young people of colour at The Proud Trust. Chloe is the lead Organiser for Rainbow Noir, a 7 year old social, peer support and community action group for LGBT people of colour in Manchester. In 2019 she was chosen to be one of the faces of Manchester International Women's Festival campaign, celebrating Strong Manchester Women. Chloe has written for DIVA Mag, and was named in The Guardian and Diva's 2020 '100 lesbians changing the game for women-loving-women' Chloe is a member of House of Noir where she is a rising star in lip synch and performance!
www.rainbownoirmcr.com
Norrina Rashid (She/They)
Norrina has been a youth worker for over 30 years. In 1987 Norinna set up the first LGBT group in Bradford. After working to empower LGBT Asian and Black young women, she was forced to live in hiding for two years in 1997 due to backlash from the community. This experience inspired her to fight fiercely for the rights of young black and people of colour to live freely in their identity. Norinna was also responsible for setting up Bradford Keighley Youth Parliment in 2002 after the riots of 2001. In 2017 Norrina was awarded outstanding contribution to the LGBT+ community at the Bradford Pride Awards
What we're raising the money for CONT.
We think £50,000 can be the foundation for us to build from. Between our leadership we are experienced in managing budgets £1m and upwards.
1. We want to ensure Colours Youth Festival is always free for young people to attend. For the young people who need it, we pay for travel from across the UK to attend the festival, which sometimes also includes flights and accommodation. Care is at the centre of what we do, all food and drink is provided. We are also committed to bringing high level speakers, practitioners and youth workers, (in the past we have had Dr Ronx, Lady Phyll, Travis Alabanza and Tanya Compass join us!)
The cost of this day festival is approximately £10,000
2. Every year we take a group of up to 30 young people and 8 members of staff to outdoor residential centres for two- three nights in order to spend in-depth time together through workshops, outdoor activities and experience nature together. The total cost for this activity including travel and staff time is approximately £12,800
Legacy and Development
Colours Youth Network have led some amazing projects in the last few years, but we’re just getting started. As a team that is led by Black and people of colour, we feel it’s integral that we have enough time and resources to ensure that we are working in an anti-burn out and sustainable way.
Many LGBT+ young people of colour don’t feel empowered to access mainstream LGBT+ youth provision, so turn to us as their first point of contact. We want to make sure we have the support in place to respond to their needs. This may look like a dedicated online pastoral team, regular and well resourced youth groups, educational workshops and more.
The cost associated with staffing and resourcing said projects will be upwards of £30,000
Withdrawing the Money
As we are a new organisation we are in the process of setting up a bank account (which will be live in 4 weeks - approx 4th August). Before this time - we will withdraw to a personal account - as approved by GoFundMe .
