YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD
Our ambition is to create opportunities for young people to be involved at all levels of the organisation and we are committed to questioning and shifting power balances to allow for the different interpretations they might bring. We recognise equity issues of religion, race, disability, gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity and culture as integral to youth involvement. We value all young people and their experience, skill and knowledge. We pride ourselves on the expertise within our team and the connections we have and want to create opportunities for young people to step into these spaces and form these connections. Young people have unique insight into how support might best be offered and how processes could be improved, so as Youth Board Advisors they will help to shape the way we do things and the direction we take as an organisation. Youth engagement gives legitimacy to decision making externally and sends a strong message regarding our commitment to young people and belief in their potential. We have already seen in our work how listening to young people has led to better practice and new, exciting ways of working so we would like to build on this.
Our Youth Advisory Board is made up of young people from the UK who have taken part in our 100 Agents of Change Programme, as well as young people from the Global South who work with our partner organisations to make change in their local contexts.
SELAM MENGISTU (CHAIR)
Selam is a London-based cultural producer, comedian, and migrant advocate, who plays a pivotal role at Counterpoints Arts, spearheading the No Direction Home standup comedy series. As a Youth Board member at In Place of War, she emerged from the 100 Agents of Change programme in 2021. Selam's brainchild, Azmari Bet, showcases her Ethiopian heritage, amplifying traditional Ethiopian arts, cuisine, and culture. Through this platform, she empowers marginalised refugee artists, fostering connections between generations and non-Ethiopian communities in celebration of Ethiopia's rich heritage.
RUBY BOYD
Ruby Boyd is an artist and musician from Nottingham, England. She studied illustration and design at university and loves drawing, writing and playing wheelchair tennis. In 2021, Ruby took part in In Place of War’s 100 Agents of Change pilot programme and was very inspired by the work of the charity. With the 100 Agents of Change being online, Ruby felt it was completely accessible to her as a disabled person. Ruby is an advocate for accessibility and inclusion and is really excited to be part of In Place of War’s permanent Youth Advisory Board.
Esther Nsiimenta Favoured
Esther is founder of the powerful teen movement Teens for Change in Kabale, a town in Western Uganda. Teens for Change works with young people that have grown up in broken families, in the poorest of situations and the poorest of communities in Kabale. Esther is passionate about inspiring teens and creating a positive movement for change in Uganda and beyond, and strongly believes in the ability of all young people to use their creativity to make change and a positive impact in the world. By engaging disadvantaged teenagers in the creative arts, she inspires them to make positive changes in their lives and a better future for themselves, for their communities and for Uganda.
PEARSE DONAGHY
Pearse Donaghy is a musician and actor from the north coast of Ireland.
Currently doing a lot of work with his band Polar Bolero, Pearse writes and performs original alternative folk songs in venues across the country.
His band combines folk, jazz and Irish traditional music, and have played numerous festivals as well as received nominations for awards, including the Northern Irish Music Prize Live Act of the Year. Pearse graduated from Queens University with a degree in Music and Audio Production in 2023 and has been working as both a session musician and producer since.
JESS SIMMONS
Jess Simmons is a theatre maker who lives in Leeds. She is studying Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds and has always been interested in the climate and biology. She was an organiser for Youth Strike 4 Climate and was on her local county council’s climate crisis response working group. Jess took part in In Place of War’s 100 Creative Agents of Climate Change programme in 2024, which inspired her to join the Youth Advisory Board. She is a Theatre Green Book Captain and runs a workshop series called “No Theatre on a Dead Planet” for other young people as she hopes to see a more sustainable future in the arts.
VERA CHISVO
Vera is a Zimbabwean-based funky jazz vocalist and guitarist. As a proud activist and philanthropist, she recently founded a creative hub in Harare, Zimbabwe, the Incubator ZW: a virtual hub that aims at inspiring and motivating creatives to reach their full potential. Incubator ZW also hosts a bi-monthly podcast and video blog called ‘Her Hour’ that promotes freedom of speech among young Zimbabweans around issues that affect them in their everyday lives. Vera is also the Arts and Events Coordinator at Magamba Network, Zimbabwe's leading youth-driven digital media organisation. She is the coordinator of their festival Shoko Festival, the biggest urban culture festival in Zimbabwe. In addition, Vera is an alumni of the US State Department International Visitors Leadership Programme year 2023. She also sits on the National Board of the Zimbabwe Coalition of Debt and Development representing the arts and culture sector.
JAMIE-LEE DAVIDS
Jamie-lee Davids was born and raised in Lavender Hill, and grew up in Manenberg, two of the most dangerous areas on the Cape Flats, a gang-affected area of Cape Town, South Africa. She currently works as Centre Administrator for Rise Above Development (RAD), a youth centre, built with the support of In Place of War, whose aim is to give the young people of Lavender Hill a safe space to learn and grow holistically through music and art. Jamie-lee is passionate about the development of the children in her community, and on the days she’s not working at RAD she can be found on a soccer field coaching and encouraging the young people to achieve their best.
She says, “One of my biggest achievements thus far was to help bring the light in children's eyes after they've experienced the darkness. Life on the Cape flats has humbled and taught me to embrace every experience, good or bad.”
RANE LUCIDO
Rane Lucido is a Filipina-British aspiring climate musicavist (musician-activist) based in Leeds, England. While studying geography at university, Rane became passionate about using music as a tool for more creative and impactful climate action. Emerging from In Place of War’s 100 Agents of Climate Change programme in 2024, she now aspires to create her own project using the arts to engage marginalised voices within climate action in Leeds, funded using community financing methods.
Following experience in the EV charging industry, she will be taking up the role of Student Success Officer at the University of Leeds, working on a financial wellbeing project. Here she aims to raise student awareness of finance’s contribution to climate (in)justice.
