Burberry expands Burberry Inspire into a global youth empowerment programme

British heritage brand Burberry is expanding The Burberry Foundation’s flagship community initiative, Burberry Inspire, into a global youth empowerment programme to support young people.

Burberry has worked with International Youth Foundation to expand the Burberry Inspire programme to create opportunities for more than 500,000 young people, aged between 10 and 24, over the next three years “to unlock their creativity and drive positive change in their lives and communities”.

In a statement, Burberry said that the programme will inspire, equip and elevate young voices by taking “a wider and more holistic approach to channelling creativity,” using frameworks defined by the Creative Youth Development National Partnership. The programme aims to foster creativity through the visual and performing arts and support STEM-related skills and encourage leadership through both personal development and social engagement.

The expanded programme will be supported by eight regional partners, including CSV Milano, Community Youth Center (CYC) of San Francisco, Girls Inc. of New York City, Girl Scouts of Japan, Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), Future for Youth Foundation in Korea, New York Edge and a current Burberry Foundation partner, Onside in the UK. Each partner will work closely with young people in their local communities to design and tailor the programme to their respective regions. Further partners in additional regions are due to be announced as the programme commences, including in Hong Kong S.A.R., China.

The new-look Burberry Inspire programme builds on the success of The Burberry Foundation’s flagship community initiative of the same name, which ran from 2018 to 2022. Over those four years, it brought schools in the UK and the US together with locally renowned arts and culture organisations to explore the positive impact that the creative arts can have on young people’s lives.

Jonathan Akeroyd, chief executive officer at Burberry, said: “Burberry has been guided by the belief that creativity opens spaces since it was founded more than 160 years ago. Today, with the support of The Burberry Foundation and our partners, we are expanding the Burberry Inspire programme to create more opportunities for young people around the world. By developing their skills and broadening their horizons, together we hope to make a positive difference in their lives as well as the lives of those around them.”