Young Londoners take over Rich Mix at a series of workshops and events for Never Alone LDN festival

Beginning today (27 September), Thrive LDN and the Mayor of London’s Peer Outreach Workers are hosting a series of young Londoner-led events to mark World Mental Health Day 2021.

Designed by young Londoners, the theme of this year’s festival is Never Alone LDN.

The COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions have taken a huge toll on the lives of younger Londoners. From mental health to education, life has been turned upside down by the pandemic. The Never Alone LDN festival will see young people come together and share messages of hope through film screenings, live music performances, creative workshops, and panel discussions, all held at Rich Mix, a dynamic arts centre and creative hub in the heart of east London.

The activities provide an opportunity for young people to highlight positive individual and collective stories as London begins to recover from the pandemic.

The festival programme will see four separate free-to-attend events held at Rich Mix:

• Never Alone LDN: Hear It – featuring some of London’s best young spoken word performers, poets and musicians.
• Never Alone LDN: Speak It – featuring panel discussions, speeches, in conversations, workshops and more.
• Never Alone LDN: Express It – a filmed open mic event, giving talented young Londoners a chance to perform on stage.
• Never Alone LDN: See It – a film screening that brings together performances, panels discussions and conversations filmed over the series of Never Alone LDN events, to celebrate World Mental Health Day.

Never Alone LDN: Hear It will feature a collection of spoken word, poetry and live music performances in front of a live audience. The line-up includes 10 young artists such as Woodzy, a Flo Poet who has reached close to a million views of his 90’s Baby poem; Sunny Day, who has previously performed at venues such as The Roundhouse and Ace Hotel; and Meron T, who this summer featured on Spotify’s Just Dropped playlist.

The second event, Never Alone LDN: Speak It is supported by bestselling author and culture journalist, Otegha Uwagba; award-winning social entrepreneur and youth leader, Amani Simpson; multi-award-winning international speaker, author and change agent, Hayley Mulenda; and 19-year-old student, global YouthStrike4Climate campaign organiser and climate justice activist, Noga Levy-Rapoport. The programme also includes a live music performance from Grime MC Laughta, who featured in BBC Three’s, Galdem Sugar.

Together they will support young people across a range of live panel discussions and conversations, exploring experiences of loss and loneliness faced throughout the pandemic. As well as wider issues that have negatively impacted wellbeing, such as loss of opportunities, discrimination and the impacts of climate change.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “As we recover from the pandemic, the wellbeing of young Londoners is vital if we are to build a healthy and successful future for our capital. I’m delighted that young Londoners have led the way in creating a range of fantastic events to mark this year’s World Mental Health Day.

“The importance of promoting positive wellbeing in this way cannot be overstated. I urge all Londoners to join together, learn from each other and discover more about the support available.”

Joe Cole and Kismet Meyon, both young Londoners and members of the Peer Outreach Team at City Hall, have been part of the team leading on the development of the event.

Joe said: “This year’s World Mental Health Day plans are bigger than ever before. I’m really excited about being able to come together in person at the Never Alone LDN events to share experiences, learn from each other and discover more about the support available in an entertaining way.”

Kismet added: “We have mapped our events to the theme of Never Alone LDN – it’s our way of saying that we need to collectively support one another as we begin to recover from the impact of the pandemic. The range of activities will offer something for everyone, opening up conversations on breaking down barriers, building resilience and the importance of having a sense of community.”

The festival follows research that participation in creative arts and culture has been shown to improve mental health and wellbeing.

This year, the festival is also supported as part of Thriving Through Culture, a partnership between Thrive LDN and the Greater London Authority’s Creative Industries and Culture Unit (CCI), which is match funded by the Baring Foundation. Thriving Through Culture is a series of cultural programmes to support children and young people’s mental health and meet the ambitions of London’s Recovery Missions.

Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, said: “Participation in arts and culture improves our mental health and wellbeing. Never Alone LDN is a wonderful collaboration which brings together our city’s young people to express their experiences of the pandemic through creativity. It’s a great way to support London’s young artists, performers and content creators.”

Director of Thrive LDN, Dan Barrett, said: “Public conversations around mental health have come a long way in recent years but there is still so much further to go. We need to help encourage each other to talk and act more when it comes to mental health and wellbeing. Throughout the pandemic, there has been a clear relationship between resilience and dealing with uncertainty, and the power of relationships, collectivising, and social networks. As we emerge from the coronavirus crisis, this has never been more important.”