Two young board members announced on the joint board of the Creative Industries Federation and Creative England

Two new young board members have been announced on the joint board of the Creative Industries Federation and Creative England, who together form the non-profit group Creative UK. They will work alongside leading figures from across the creative industries, including Dazed Media CEO and Co-Founder Jefferson Hack, Women of the World Festival Founder Jude Kelly and BBC Director-General Tim Davie.

Hannah Chukwu and Mya-Rose Craig were selected from over 100 applicants aged 18-25 and joined their first board meeting in April 2021. Hannah Chukwu is an Assistant Editor at Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House UK and sits on the Board of Trustees award-winning university access charity, The Brilliant Club. Mya-Rose Craig, also known as Birdgirl, is a birder and environmentalist and founder of Black2Nature, which aims to improve access to nature for ethnic minority communities.

Their initial appointment will be for a term of one year, with the option to renew for a second year. Throughout this period they will each be paired with an existing board member as a mentor, who will support their work.

Hannah Chukwu said: “I feel incredibly honoured at my appointment as one of the first young board members on the joint board of the Creative Industries Federation and Creative England. It will allow me to serve two causes I am so passionate about – supporting the creative industries to thrive and grow, whilst making sure that young people’s voices are represented in conversations at the highest level. I believe that the creative industries benefit our society in a myriad of ways and I hope to use this opportunity to help include and elevate those across our society who have historically been absent from these conversations.”

Mya-Rose Craig said: “I feel privileged to have joined the joint board of the Creative Industries Federation and Creative England. I hope to use my expertise, dedication and passion in making nature filmmaking ethnically diverse to find sustainable solutions to making the creative sector as a whole ethnically diverse. This includes all the UK’s diverse communities, being supportive of Visible Minority Ethnic people, engaging young VME people in the debate and encouraging them into the sector. I hope to at times make discussions uncomfortable and in doing so, to challenge the status quo so that real changes occurs.”

Caroline Norbury MBE, CEO of the Creative Industries Federation and Creative England, said: “I am delighted that Hannah and Mya-Rose have joined our board. They both bring a huge amount of passion and energy, as well as very valuable insights into what really matters to young people in the creative industries. Working alongside our other extraordinarily talented board members, their fresh perspectives and experiences will be vital in shaping and challenging the direction we take in boosting the creative sector.”

For further information, please contact Matthew Horne, Press and PR Manager on matthew.horne@creativeengland.co.uk