All Lit Up

All LIT up was initiated by the Academi with funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council. It began in February 2002 and since then has conducted many workshops and literature events.

The aim of all LIT up is to enable young people, particularly those who have been excluded from mainstream education and young people in care, to have an opportunity to develop skills in storytelling and writing. Through working with supportive tutors, such as Francesca Kay and Phil Carradice, the participants get to express themselves creatively and build confidence and self–esteem.

Through building relationships with schools, young people’s residential units and with charities such as NSPCC & Barnardos, we have been able to access groups of young people who have experienced problems with learning skills and confidence. It has been the aim of the project from the outset to work in a sustained way which each group, thereby building trust and allowing the best possible creative work to develop.

A primary aim of the project has been to nurture talent wherever we find it. A number of talented young writers have emerged from the workshops and we have continued to work with these young people in order to ensure they have every chance to fulfil their potential.