BBC Studios offers residencies to BAME content creators in new Meta partnership
It has been announced that BBC Studios TalentWorks has partnered up with Meta's Facebook creator collective and Instagram diverse voices to offer residencies to four content creators across the UK.
This opportunity is funded by Meta and will see a diverse range of up-and-coming creators invited on to placements with BBC Studios, which will allow first-hand experience and mentoring, as well as the opportunity to develop their own individual projects to be recognised through this platform.
The head of BBC Studios TalentWorks, Helen O'Donnell shares her excitement about the partnership: "BBC Studios TalentWorks is delighted to be able to team up with Meta to offer these young creators the opportunity to craft their skills, and we can’t wait to see their pitches come to life".
Two out of the four content creators selected by BBC Studios Talentworks are two women from BAME communities.
Shahira Allen, a black beauty content creator who advocates the importance of natural hair. Allen invites her followers to learn and share her own experiences as a young black British woman. Her angle is focusing on the modern day history of 'blackness' in areas outside of London.
Allen's presence on Instagram is a successful one. Known by the handle 'afroglory_', Allen has a following of 11.4K followers.
The next creator is Shu Shi Lin. Shu Shi Lin is a British born Chinese food and travel content creator, who uses her social media platform to promote a positive mindset on cultural lifestyle content and to bring representation for the East and South East Asian community in the UK.
Shi Lin has a following of 16.5K followers on her Instagram account 'dejashu'. Her angle for her pitch is to use food and people-driven storytelling as an apparatus to discuss heritage, identity, history and body image.
In addition, Louise Holmes, the director of creative partnerships, EMEA from Meta highlights the importance of representation: "In partnering with BBC Studios, we’ve been able to bolster our long-running Diverse Voices Programme in the UK, as we continue to look for opportunities that amplify the voices of creators who speak for underrepresented communities."