Comics Youth CIC Launch Changemakers Inclusion Charter

On Tuesday 9^th April 2024, Comics Youth CIC officially launched the Changemakers Inclusion Charter. The Charter was the work of the Marginal Changemakers, a cohort of marginalised young people aged 14-25 who are using activism to make publishing more equitable and to create positive changes in the industry.   The UK publishing workforce currently suffers from a lack of diversity and has historically been one dominated by white, upper class, able-bodied men and the Changemakers Inclusion Charter is aimed at not only making it easier for marginalised communities to make a career in publishing, but for that career to be sustainable. The Marginal Changemakers are urging publishers to take a positive stand for accessibility and inclusion within publishing and to adopt the below Charter.

The Changemakers Inclusion Charter is the result of several months of learning and reflecting on the barriers within publishing for marginalised communities. The Charter focuses on issues of transparency, accessibility, and inclusion in publishing.  

Publishers who want to know more and get involved can visit https://www.marginalpublishing.co.uk/changemakers-inclusion-charter and fill out a form in order to join the initiative and sign the charter. 

Marginal Changemaker Cady Davies said,“Fighting for change within the publishing industry is so important to ensure voices from all walks of life can be heard, not just a select few. ”

Comics Youth CIC CEO Rhiannon Griffiths MBE added, “The London-Centric nature of the UK publishing industry is completely inaccessible to marginalised youth. Stories uplift and empower us; they have the power to connect us and access different perspectives, yet currently those who write and those who decide what gets published are (largely) cut from the same cloth. We believe that diversity has become another corporate buzzword; a box ticking exercise. This lack of accountability is deeply troubling. When we’re told stories from a limited pool of people-drawing on a particular set of experiences-we lose the bigger picture, and our worldview becomes limited. This charter is a necessary step to improve equity on a national scale“.