Shout Out Loud

English Heritage’s national youth engagement programme, ‘Shout Out Loud’, is a programme of youth-centred and youth-led activity that has been running since 2018.

Over the last six years, we have reached thousands of young people across England, worked with some of the most creative, dynamic partners, and delivered award-winning, youth-led project work.

Originally funded as part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s ‘Kick the Dust’ scheme (2018–22), youth engagement at English Heritage is now supported by multiple sources.

More about Shout Out Loud

Shout Out Loud enables young people aged 11–25 to explore English Heritage sites, collections and stories, and uncover lesser-known and untold narratives from our past. Through high-quality, creative youth engagement work, young people’s perspectives are placed at the heart of English Heritage and their work is shared with audiences on site and online.

We offer multiple layers of engagement, from one-day introductory activities at sites to more in-depth, hands-on creative projects giving young people the chance to delve into heritage in personally meaningful ways. Some of these are led and delivered by Young Producers (volunteers aged 18–25) who receive training, take part in organisational consultation and are offered opportunities to hold influential positions of governance within English Heritage.

We’re excited by the opportunities we’ve created and proud of the young people we’ve had the privilege of working with. We can’t wait for what comes next as we develop future partnerships, reaching diverse young audiences and connecting more young people with our shared heritage.

Find out more on the Shout Out Loud website

What We’ve Been Working On

Shout Out Loud projects create new ways for young people to engage in heritage, often encouraging them to view heritage sites and stories as sources of inspiration for their existing creative interests and skills.

From Stonehenge to Hadrian’s Wall, young people are making art, and developing new plays, films, soundscapes, and exhibitions all inspired by England’s rich heritage. Shout Out Loud is transforming how we tell England’s stories, with young people at the forefront.

What We’ve Done

Our House

A new theatre piece devised entirely by young people from LGBTQ+ charity METRO and the National Youth Theatre. It explores the history of Eltham Palace and LGBTQ+ heritage. ‘Our House’ won a UK Heritage Award 2020 for Best Event, Festival or Exhibition.

Made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players.
England's New Lenses

A two-part photography programme in partnership with Photoworks #UntoldHeritage and England’s New Lenses Commissions. Young, emerging photographers told heritage stories through their own lenses, inspired by English Heritage sites and stories.

Made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and DCMS Youth Accelerator Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players.
Reverberate 2023

Grassroots organisations were invited to create small, locally based projects that enabled and empowered young people to re-discover, re-imagine and re-create heritage through creativity, then share that vision with their communities. In 2023, each project was connected to, or inspired by, English Heritage sites and stories, from Cornwall to York.
The Ancestors

The Ancestors play, film and performance brings together new research about Portchester Castle, an 1807 play, and a group of young performers from the National Youth Theatre and local youth groups.

Made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, DCMS Youth Accelerator Fund, Google Arts and Culture, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the David Toguri Bursary Fund.
Trial and Triumph

The 22 June 2022 was the 250th anniversary of the landmark slavery legal case of 1772 – Somerset v Stewart. To mark this anniversary, English Heritage put together a public event including a panel discussion and invited the Chineke! Junior Orchestra to Kenwood House to perform newly commissioned music inspired by the life of James Somerset.

Made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players.
A Job in History

Young Producers wanted to de-mystify the wide variety of roles in heritage, giving school leavers and graduates alike some hints and tips about careers in heritage.

Through a YouTube series, Young Producers took on roles from animator to interviewer. They spoke with members of English Heritage staff, from the CEO to the Chief Gardener to the Head of Commercial Development.

Made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and DCMS Youth Accelerator Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players.

What is a young producer?

Young Producers are the voice of young people in English Heritage and sit at the highest level of youth participation. Young Producers have had the opportunity to sit on recruitment panels, influence digital youth engagement strategy, sit on shortlisting and judging panels for projects and deliver keynote speeches for sector conferences.

The Young Producers programme is tailored to the interests and needs of each youth participant to ensure that everyone involved gets the most out of their experience. We recruit for new Young Producers once a year, so keep an eye out for that. In the meantime if Young Producers sounds like something you or someone you know would be interested in, in the first instance please see our Young Associate scheme.

Youth Associates are young people aged 16–25 interested in hearing about opportunities for involvement at English Heritage and the heritage sector more broadly. They receive email updates about opportunities and events and have the opportunity to participate in online meet ups.

If you’re interested in getting involved, please get in touch.

How Can Young People Get Involved?

There are lots of ways young people aged between 11 and 25 can get involved with the Shout Out Loud programme. We’re always looking to connect with youth organisations across England to take part in site visits and project work, and we are building a fantastic list of trusted, high quality creative organisations and facilitators.

Young people may get involved independently by:

becoming a Youth Associate. People aged 16–25 can join and participate throughout the year.
applying to be a Young Producer. 18–25 year olds can apply once a year to a digital volunteering opportunity with multiple project options.
keeping an eye open for the frequent open calls associated with specific projects.

The best place to find out about current opportunities is via our website, on our Instagram channel or being kept up to date as a Youth Associate.

We also have exciting paid placement opportunities to work directly with the Youth Engagement Team. These will be advertised on our Jobs page.