Young Trustees Appointed
Posted
6th December 2024
in news
Staff and Trustees at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House are delighted to welcome Rose Palmer and Rana Rofifah into new roles as Young Trustees on the charity’s Board.
This initiative, during the House’s 10th anniversary year, is part of a wider remit that will see the House engaging with new and younger audiences as it develops over the next decade.
In 2024 Elizabeth Gaskell’s House joined the ‘Engaging your First Young Trustees’ Programme with Kids in Museums which provides additional support, mentoring and training to both the organisation and the Young Trustees. The team hopes this experience will bring new lived experience, skills and new perspectives to the governance of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House.
Alex Walker, Chair: ‘The House has a long-standing commitment to the representation of young people in both staff & volunteer teams. 10% of our volunteers are aged 18-25 and half of our staff team are under 30, and we want to see this is reflected at Board level.’
Rana Rofifah, aged 24, began volunteering at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House when she was just 16. Whilst studying at university she worked for the National Trust and was a Learning & Engagement Ambassador for Chatsworth House. She now works as Programmes Assistant for the Royal Geographical Society in London.
Rana Rofifah, Trustee: ‘I am very grateful to have been appointed as a Trustee to the House and hope to apply my knowledge and experiences from being a young volunteer to the Board. I am looking forward to gaining governance experience and learning from other professionals in the sector. I hope to play a part in developing the offer for the next generation of loyal visitors to Elizabeth Gaskell’s House in sustainable and creative ways.’
Rose Palmer, aged 20, is from Salford and is currently a History student at Sheffield University. She brings a wealth of voluntary experience including being the Salford Youth Mayor from 20-22 and from being a panel member for Salford CVS wellbeing fund.
Rose Palmer, Trustee: ‘I am so excited to be a part of the Board and getting involved as a Young Trustee, especially finding ways to attract and support more young people to visit and get involved. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Board meeting, and whilst I had some initial nerves, as soon as I got there, I felt so comfortable and everyone made the environment so welcoming.’
Kids in Museums established the ‘Engaging your First Young Trustees’ Programme in partnership with UpStart Projects to start to address the lack of representation of young people on museum boards. Research showed that young people resoundingly don’t feel museums are for them.
Alison Bowyer, Kids in Museums: ‘To ensure they don’t miss out on the many benefits of visiting museums and to build the audience of the future, museums need to listen to young people and respond to their calls for change. We believe this starts at the top with young people’s voices being heard in the Board room. We’ve seen the positive impact of having Young Trustees on our Board over five years and we’re delighted to see the museums in our programme appointing their first Young Trustees.’
During the next 12-months, and with support with funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Elizabeth Gaskell’s House will also be embarking on its very first Writers Residency, with the work of three young writers forming the basis of a new exhibition in summer 2025.
