Empowering SEND creativity

SSeeking Talent aims to deliver a new two year internship project that will give young people aged 18-30 who have disabilities or special needs the chance to gain real experience within the media industry. The programme will run through Lambeth Voices community newspaper, a locally rooted and independent publication focused on culture, news, climate and community events across the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark.

As a community-run platform free from large media ownership, Lambeth Voices highlights grassroots issues, local creativity and community action that may not receive space in the local news outlets.

Interns will learn journalism, photography, editing and design while contributing directly to a publication that reaches more than 10,000 readers. This project is an ambitious new step for Seeking Talent, shaped entirely by lived experience and a deep understanding of the barriers that young disabled people face when trying to access media careers.

The project will open pathways into work by giving participants AQA certification, skills, confidence and experience needed for future employment. Their involvement will also help the newspaper better represent the full diversity of the community, especially through a newly introduced environment and climate change section written from the perspective of disabled residents.

Over two years, twenty young people from Lambeth and Southwark will take part, with the aim of employing three interns from each borough. Promotion will be carried out through Lambeth Voices, borough communications teams, social media, JobCentres and community organisations to reach as many young adults as possible.

The project will also include ongoing learning and feedback from interns will shape future programmes and help create a strong and inclusive model of media training that can grow across other boroughs. Ultimately this work will help build a newsroom culture where every voice is valued and represented.