The innovative “Create!” programme by the Victoria and Albert Museum aims to stimulate creativity and encourage the discovery and transmission of skills with a view to future careers. This initiative regularly organises workshops, classes and festivals for 13- to 24-year-olds interested in art, design and fashion to open the door to careers in these areas. Operating independently from the broader education and schools programme at the museum, “Create!” rests on a voluntary principle, with the young people who take part becoming actors for their own professional future through the programme.

The numerous activities offered by the “Create!” programme give participants the chance to acquire specific skills by working with invited craftspeople and designers. They include “CreateFuture”, a series of intensive sessions focused on gestures and techniques. The Foundation’s support means that these workshops, which address 16- to 24-year-olds outside the education system, are free for all participants. Once a month, a group of young volunteers, “CreateVoice”, meets in the museum. They organise guided visits and talks, and are invited to have their input, suggesting new projects for other young people to come into contact with creative industry professionals. The twice-yearly, free “Young People’s Festivals” – one dedicated to fashion and the other to art and design – attract thousands of young people, all eager for information and advice on how to get into these rewarding but all too frequently exclusive creative fields.