Wise up

YoungMinds is the UK’s leading charity fighting for young people’s mental health. 64 Million Artists were invited to work with their network of Young Activists to help co-create the second phase of their Wise Up campaign which called on the Government to rebalance the education system to recognise that student well-being is as important as academic attainment. 64 Million Artists’ brief was to put the Young Activists’ creativity at the heart of the campaign, at the same time as helping them to develop their own creative skills and well-being. The Young Activists are aged between 14 and 25, come from across England, and have a wide range of lived experience of mental ill health.
From this group, it was an open call to join the Wise Up project. The organizers engaged 20 young people as active workshop participants in the co-design of the campaign – and many more as part of the wider project. Over 12 months, they worked with the group to build their creative confidence and develop campaign ideas. Through creative workshops and online participation, the group designed and delivered a range of outputs including: a live event creating an illustration of the perfect school’ inspired by hundreds of young people and members of the public; the concept and brief for a campaign film; and an interactive parliamentary event hosted by the Young Activists themselves in Westminster.