The Heritage Lottery fund has today launched a £10m pilot programme and is inviting groups of charities and other organisations to apply for funding.

The Kick the Dust programme aims “to make heritage relevant and inclusive for 11 to 25 year olds” and is inviting consortia of three or more organisations, including heritage and youth organisations, to apply for grants of £500,000 to £1m. 

Applicants must deliver “ambitious and sustainable projects focused on increasing the scale and quality of youth engagement with heritage”.

The programme has launched in support of a priority set out in the government’s recent Culture White Paper to involve young people more effectively in the UK’s culture, both in heritage and the arts.

Sir Peter Luff, chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: “HLF enthusiastically shares the conviction that enabling young people from all backgrounds to establish a deeper relationship with culture will improve their life chances. It will do this by increasing their enjoyment, deepening their understanding of the opportunities on offer, inspiring new thinking about career options and creating valuable educational opportunities outside of the curriculum.”

Tracey Crouch, heritage minister, said: “It’s so important that we encourage everyone, especially young people no matter what their background, to explore our nation’s incredible heritage. By offering cultural experiences and educational opportunities, heritage can play a hugely positive role in people’s lives.”

Kick the Dust will see young people join the programme’s decision making panel and become ambassadors for heritage.

Applicants have until 2 December 2016 to submit a mandatory project enquiry form, and they will then have until 20 February 2017 to submit an application, before decisions are made in June.

More information and guidance on how to apply can be found here.