Luton Borough Council

31/10/2024 - Leading Luton – Join Luton’s next generation of changemakers

Applications now open to take part in UK first, National Lottery Funded community leadership programme in Luton

Luton Council and The Young Foundation are working together with the support of local organisations to offer a new action learning programme that will help re-imagine and redefine community leadership for social justice in Luton.

Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, the eight-month community leadership programme: ‘Leading Luton’ is for people who live or work in Luton and will bring together up to 30 people (aged 18 and over) across the borough to explore the skills, tools and relationships needed to shape the future of Luton around the Council’s 2040 vision of ‘a town built on fairness and social justice’ to tackle poverty and inequality so that everyone can thrive.

We are recruiting individuals from any sector or background – activists, artists, innovators, curators, educators, carers, organisers, technologists. If you are curious, motivated and passionate about social justice, we want to hear from you!

Sessions will take place once a month over eight months, lasting up to five hours each, and alternating between a central Luton location and online.

There is so much to be gained from participating, including:

knowledge of different leadership and innovation tools
personal reflections drawn from 1:1 coaching
practical knowledge and experience of peer coaching and action learning
one (or more) areas of practical personal or collective exploration or experimentation.

Councillor Hazel Simmons MBE, Leader of Luton Council said: “We want to hear from people who want to make a difference in Luton. This is a great opportunity for people from all walks of life to get involved and meet a network of like-minded individuals who want to work towards a fairer future for Luton and be part of the vital work our Fairness Taskforce is doing.”

Daniel Farag, Director of Innovation and Practice, at The Young Foundation, said: “This programme is designed to build leadership capacity across Luton. Local people are already working tirelessly to serve their communities, and Leading Luton is an opportunity to bring together these amazing people to learn from and support each other as leaders shaping the future of Luton.”

If you are interested in finding out more, head over to The Young Foundation website or email: [email protected]. Applications for the first cohort close on Monday 11 November at 5pm.