BBC Blogs - About the BBC - Careers, communities and creativity keep BBC Outreach busy

Recently, we blogged about Radio 1's Access all Areas - one of many outreach projects mounted by the BBC.

Corporate responsibility, outreach and partnership work are central to the BBC. Many departments across the organisation regularly run outreach projects which bring us into contact with our audiences in a way that broadcasting sometimes can't. Diane Reid gives us an update on recent projects.

BBC Outreach and Corporate Responsibility has been, well, reaching out abundantly in 2014. Here’s a whistle stop tour of where we’ve been and what we’ve been up to, and some opportunities for you to get involved in our work:

The West

The Ticket Talent Roadshow which promotes creativity and inspires young people to consider a career in the media, will see 1,500 Year nine pupils and 50 BBC volunteers taking part in 10 different Bristol schools in March and April 2014. The project is a unique partnership between BBC Outreach Bristol, the University of the West of England (UWE) and 12 local schools,

News Day 2014

27 March is BBC News School Report’s annual News Day. Over 1,100 schools are already signed up to take part in the day which will see students aged 11 – 16 around the UK turn their classrooms into newsrooms to report on stories that matter to them, sometimes with support from BBC staff mentors.

Young Composers

Last month, the BBC Proms launched the annual Inspire Young Composers’ Competition for budding composers aged 12 - 18 years old. The judging panel includes professional composers Judith Weir and Fraser Trainer, who will be looking for bright young UK talent. Winners will hear their pieces performed by professional musicians and broadcast on Radio 3, as well as receiving a coveted BBC commission. Part of the wider BBC Proms Inspire scheme, which invites young composers to attend free composition workshops all across the UK, it’s a great opportunity as all young musicians who participate in the scheme are also invited to free workshops during the BBC Proms season.

Theatre

The BBC Performing Arts Fund recently announced over £430,000 of awards to 19 Fellows and 58 community theatre organisations. Funded through revenue from the voting lines of BBC entertainment programmes such as The Voice and Strictly Come Dancing, the charity supports performing arts individuals, community groups and organisations through grants, mentoring and advice. This year funding has been distributed across the UK with 78% of the recipients based outside of London. From a live performance inside the Scottish parliament to a production using Skype to include performers who are housebound, those funded through the 2013 theatre scheme are as diverse in what they produce as they are in their locations.

Local volunteers

Charities and community organisations looking to run projects with BBC staff are invited to submit innovative applications via The Community Doorway Programme. This new initiative from BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility will see BBC volunteers working with communities local to where they work – primarily the two London boroughs of Westminster and Hammersmith & Fulham, Salford and Greater Manchester.

BBC staff will support 14 wide-ranging projects, including an annual awards event recognising Salford’s young people and an arts project in London. The next assessments will take place in early May.

Character Invasion events

Radio 4’s Character Invasion is a celebration of character combining on-air programmes with free public events. Saturday 29th March is the day and guests can take part in a multitude of events across the country, those at Salford’s MediaCityUK will participate in writing workshops focused on the development of character, gain insights from actors such as Maxine Peake and meetings with the cast of flagship CBBC dramas like Wolfblood. Other events will be taking place at Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, Bristol, Birmingham and London. All events are free but some are ticketed - tickets will become available on 6th March.

Diane Reid is Head of BBC Outreach