Kick The Dust
Our £10million pilot programme to make heritage relevant to people aged 11-25 supported 12 ambitious projects between 2017 and 2023.
Responding to research revealing that young people were still under-represented as audiences, participants and volunteers in heritage, the Kick The Dust programme aimed to:
- increase the ambition, scale, and quality of youth engagement with heritage
- make heritage relevant to more and a greater diversity of young people, building on their needs and interests
- develop sustainable, ongoing work with young people within heritage organisations
- show the value of youth engagement with heritage
12 projects supported across the UK
Young people were deeply involved in all stages of Kick The Dust, including naming the programme. A team of 15 young Dustkickers helped decide the 12 projects that were awarded funding:
- 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)
- Don't Settle, Beatfreeks Arts Ltd (£696,700)
- IGNITE - An Industrial Revolution for the 21st Century, IVE (£962,300)
- Hands on Heritage, National Museum Wales (£874,554)
Find out more
Explore the links below to read more about Kick The Dust projects and the young people who took part.
Publications
Kick the Dust programme evaluation: empowering young people in heritage
Our £10million pilot programme to make heritage relevant to people aged 11-25 has concluded after six years of achievements and learning.
Videos
Young people tell us why heritage is important
Five young people from our Kick the Dust programme tell us what heritage means to them and why it is important to include young people in heritage projects.
Blogs
What is Kick the Dust?
In 2016 The National Lottery Heritage Fund launched a £10million investment to make heritage relevant to the lives of young people aged 11-25.
Blogs
Hope Streets: moving a heritage festival online
How young people helped a Kick the Dust project embrace digital during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Stories
A revolution in industrial heritage
In our conversation with Marie Millward, Ignite Yorkshire project manager, we discuss how to move beyond "nostalgia" to engage young people with our industrial past.
Blogs
Techniques for supporting young people's wellbeing during heritage projects
How Kick the Dust projects worked to create high quality environments for participants.
Blogs
Kick the Dust Norfolk Journeys: helping young people into work
Discover how a heritage-themed work experience programme is helping young people to develop crucial skills and secure employment.
Blogs
Kick the Dust - what we learned in year two
Four years ago, we set out to change the way young people are involved in and experience heritage.
Blogs
A missing voice - the young person in the museum
As well as helping to bring young people into the museum, technology provides a new way for them to think about their place within it.
Blogs
Breaking down barriers to nature for young Black people
Throughout my life, telling people my aspirations to have a career in wildlife conservation has often been met with surprise and disbelief.
Blogs
Reimagine, Remake, Replay: giving young women a voice in heritage
Two young women making their mark in heritage describe their experiences of a project at the Ulster Museum.