Pilot programme aims to empower youngsters to challenge injustice.

Young disabled people are being encouraged to become citizen reporters and challenge injustices in their communities.

Disability charity Leonard Cheshire and communications agency On Our Radar have joined forces for the initiative, which will initially see eight young disabled people receive intensive training in news reporting.

Following their training, they will recruit, train and mentor a further 60 young reporters in their local areas over the course of the project, which runs until December 2021.

The project, being piloted under the working title of Future Leaders, is being launched in Glasgow, Manchester, Belfast and Swansea, with young reporters being recruited this month.

Joshua Reeves, campaign support officer at Leonard Cheshire, said: "This initiative will give so many young people a voice to tell stories that need to be said. We have seen how powerful citizen reporting can be through our projects in countries such as Kenya in terms of empowering people to campaign on the issues that mean the most to them.

"You can report and campaign with nothing more than a mobile phone and Skype. I've seen this work when campaigning with the Commonwealth Youth Council. So, you can bring a successful campaign with the right mentoring and skills; you can make a massive difference to your local community and disabled people around the country.”

Laura Jump, On Our Radar CEO, added: “We’re thrilled to be continuing our long-standing relationship with Leonard Cheshire. We have previously worked together to amplify the voices of people living with disabilities across the world; in Zambia, the Philippines, Kenya and Sierra Leone as part of Leonard Cheshire’s Missing Voices campaign.

“These projects have focused on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and we are excited to build upon the learning from these projects to support the activities of young future leaders in the UK.”