Meet our Young Advocates for 2026!
Young Advocates is a group of young people aged 16-25 that, whilst on their own journey of learning and development, will shape and influence the work of the Hippodrome.
Our latest cohort of Young Advocates launched at the end of January 2026 after receiving over 120 applications and holding 4 group interviews.
We are so pleased to announce that our Young Advocates are:
Clement, Shannon, Zach, Tiannah, Waris, Tyler, Aleyah, Verity, Rochanté, Niobe, Amelia, Lucy, Aditi, TJ, Rae-Kwan, Chi, Ruwayda, Izzy, Eisha, Ava, Chevorn, Daniel, Gurdev, Izzy, Matilda, Rachel, Tallulah and Thomas.
Previous cohorts of Young Advocates have launched the Young Community Drop In sessions, which are now a regular part of the Hippodrome’s programme of events for young people, hosted their own events as part of TEDxYouth@Brum, curated a stage of artists at Birmingham Weekender, and spoken at a fundraising event which raised £10,000 for Birmingham Hippodrome’s work with young people.
Speaking about the experience, Ruwayda said “Being a part of the Young Advocates is incredible! This group has so many interests and specialisms that I am always learning something new. I am given amazing opportunities in what I enjoy, like helping out with the Origins Festival and getting to see so much new work! I’m looking forward to learning new skills and putting my ideas into action!”
This year’s cohort are from all over the region and have a wide array of specialisms and interests including dance, photography, music production, costume, facilitation… the list goes on. Meeting on the first and third Wednesday of each month, the group acts as a strategic and advisory voice for the Hippodrome by helping to shape the organisation’s work for young people.
Each Young Advocate will continue to receive training, paid placements, mentoring and access to a range of different opportunities within the arts industry. We can’t wait to see what the group do next – watch this space!