Liv Little (front pic), founder and CEO of Gal-Dem, has been voted a Future Leader and included in the BBC’s 100 women series, as well as being recognised as one of the top women speakers in Britain by The Dots. Liv will be joined by Doreen Foster, Director of Warwick Arts Centre in Coventry.

Originally from the West Midlands, Doreen (pictured) is one of the only women of colour to run an arts venue outside of London. She has also previously served as Director of the West Midlands Social Economic Partnership, as well as Director of Birmingham Partnership for Change and Deputy Director of the Black Cultural Archives.

Anisa Haghdadi, Founder & CEO of Beatfreeks Collective, said: “Birmingham has Europe’s youngest population but too often young people are not represented in the city’s leadership. The Brum Youth Trends Summit is an invaluable opportunity to bring together policy makers and young influencers to host debates and conversations around housing, education, the arts, mental health and more in the drive to make real change for this generation, not just future ones.

“We are so pleased to welcome Liv and Doreen as two of our headline speakers at this year’s summit. Liv is an inspiration and is doing much needed work in changing representation in the media and Doreen is at the heart of the West Midlands’ renaissance. I can’t wait to hear their ideas for a better, youth-led city.”

Brum Youth Trends is a pioneering report offering unprecedented insight on what young people think, their future aspirations and challenges. The report, which is currently being compiled by Birmingham-based social enterprise Beatfreeks, will be launched at the Brum Youth Trends Summit in October.

Liv Little, one of the Summit’s headline speakers, added: “Birmingham is a young, vibrant place with so much going on, from young entrepreneurs to leading creatives. I can’t wait to engage with young people from across the city and find out what they need to deliver Birmingham’s exciting future.”

In 2018 the summit brought together civic leaders, influencers and policy makers and has already delivered meaningful change to the lives of young people in Birmingham. Beatfreeks is supported by the Birmingham arts charity, Town Hall Symphony Hall and the Summit will be held in Birmingham Town Hall, one of the City’s best event spaces.

Doreen Foster continued: “The entire West Midlands is in the midst of a renaissance. This isn’t just focused on Birmingham but Coventry too, as we prepare for Coventry City of Culture in 2021. There is so much to look forward to and it is our young people who are driving much of this exciting cultural revolution. The Birmingham Youth Summit is the ideal forum to engage with our creative community and plan for the future.”

The Brum Youth Trends Summit is taking place on Thursday 24th October, from 12-5pm in Birmingham Town Hall. Tickets are free and during the event you will receive a free copy of the 2019 report and hear from key policy makers and young influencers. Further speakers will be announced in due course.