Asia House has identified young audiences and education as key areas of development. As part of the Asia House Bagri Foundation Literature Festival, we produce several programmes that reach out to youth through events, mentoring, learning and involvement. The aims of these programmes are:

To inspire young people to read, write and achieve their potential
To encourage reading and writing in disadvantaged communities and to develop skills related to writing
To create awareness of good Asian/British Asian writers who can provide role models for young Asians in Britain
To introduce diaspora students to their heritage cultures and to introduce non-Asians to the cultures in the communities around them
To provide experience opportunities for talented young people
To improve integration and understanding across cultures and communities

Schools Programme

Asia House’s School Programme, which piloted in 2013, has gone from success to success. Working with partners we develop and implement a series of writing workshops in schools throughout London and the UK. Students are introduced to books that we feature in the Festival and discuss them in light of our Festival themes. In 2016 we are looking at the theme of Alternative Voice. Through these fun, interactive workshops, we reach over 500 students each year.

Student Writing Competition

Students from the workshops are invited to submit fiction, non-fiction and poetry in a Student Writing Competition. Prizes on offer included Amazon vouchers and mentoring opportunities. We announce the final winners as part of a prize giving event at Asia House held in the summer.

This year’s prize winning event will be held on Wednesday 29 June.

Family Days at Asia House and elsewhere

Each year we work with some of the best professional storytellers, workshop facilitators, performers and children’s book writers to host events aimed at children and families. For 2016 we hosted a morning called Journey into the Jungle. This tied in with Disney’s remake of Rudyard Kipling’s classic The Jungle Book.

We also run a series of family-oriented events at venues across the UK, including libraries and cultural institutions.