Twelve grants of between £500,000 and £1m have been allocated to projects across the UK that will involve more young people in heritage. The grants have been awarded through Kick the Dust, HLF’s pioneering new funding programme.

Plans include a ‘Dragons’ Den’-style heritage funding project in Leicester; an England-wide plan to connect young people from less affluent areas with their local green spaces; and a scheme inviting young people to create training for museum staff.

John Glen, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism said: "This funding, from National Lottery players, will create exciting opportunities for young people across the country to enjoy and learn about heritage outside of school. It is something that we promised to do as part of the Cultural White Paper, and I know that all the successful projects will have a hugely positive impact on the lives of young people."

[quote= John Glen, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism]"I know that all the successful projects will have a hugely positive impact on the lives of young people."[/quote]

Kick the Dust was named by young people with an aspiration to ‘stir up heritage’. At its core is a group of 16-25 year-old Heritage Ambassadors, recruited from across the UK to work with HLF on making heritage more inclusive for people in their age group. The Heritage Ambassadors played an important part in allocating the money, advising HLF’s decision panel on the projects they found to be most appealing.

Heritage Ambassador Jack Welch, 24, said: “HLF was very supportive of our contributions to the decisions on successful projects. It's wonderful to see young people's participation in heritage is being prioritised with this funding so we can continue breaking down barriers across the ages”. 

The National Lottery-funded projects are:

• Norfolk Journeys: empowering young people to develop their own pathways into Norfolk’s heritage, Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service - £776,500
• Y Heritage, The Y, Leicester - £707,500
• Future Proof Parks, Groundwork UK - £919,200
• Keeping it Wild, London Wildlife Trust - £886,600
• Our Shared Cultural Heritage, British Council - £868,600
• SHOUT OUT LOUD: giving young people a voice in heritage, English Heritage - £994,500
• Reimagine, Remake, Replay, The Nerve Centre - £949,600
• Hope Streets, Curious Minds - £1,000,000
• Scotland 365, National Museums Scotland - £776,000
• The Radical Heritage Project, Beatfreeks Arts Ltd - £696,700
• IGNITE - An Industrial Revolution for the 21st Century, IVE - £962,300
• Hands on Heritage, National Museum Wales - £874,554

For more information on our Heritage Ambassadors and the work they do, visit the Online Community discussion where they are introducing themselves.