FABLEVISION LTD

Fablevision is a charity that has, for the last three decades, has worked with volunteers to support the development of projects in communities that tell stories and engage diverse groups in their telling. Stories can be told in film, drama or visual statement but they all engage artists, communities and twenty or more young volunteers each year. Many of our charity projects are international, involving European interns. In recent years we have hosted interns from France, Germany, Poland, Russia and currently, from Spain. Our current international project is a six cities exploration of "what's next for post industrial waterfront heritage zones?" In partnership with five other organisations from Ostend, Levadia, Limerick, Gdansk and lead partner, Gothenburg/Stockholm in Sweden, we have developed a two year project that seeks to discover what are the barriers to artistic interventionism leading to actual planning implementation on the ground. Our organisations are all members of the River Cities Network (http://www.river-cities.net) and our two year project is called Memory of Water (https://www.memoryofwater.eu). Our social enterprise trading arm, Fablevision Studios (https://www.fablevisionstudios.co.uk) attracts volunteers of all abilities. All of our volunteers have been unemployed for six months or more. Some are qualified in media or administration but without work experience have found it impossible to gain employment. Most of our volunteers have long-term medical conditions which impede their ability to work. These may be physical disabilities like mobility or deafness or they could be long term illnesses (epilepsy, diabetes, mental health issues etc). Currently, 3 of our volunteers are on the autism spectrum. . They join the Studios to gain experience on projects. Supported by industry professionals, they gain experience as well as new skills in multi media: film editing, graphic design, administration and any media related tasks. Fablevision Studios is an informal training centre providing informal learning opportunities. Our young people all struggle with fewer opportunities (barriers to engagement because of their long term conditions or lack of experience). Our tracking of their progress after they leave the Studios has taught us that a large percentage set up as free lance workers (often returning to the Studios as media professionals mentoring the next generation of volunteers). Some go into industry related free lance work and others into long term contracts. One young man with cystic fibroses has been with us for many years and is able to continue in the role as long as his health will permit. The organisation is a not for profit NGO run by a voluntary board of directors who give of their time and expertise to support the projects and the volunteers. Within the organisation are two separate legal identities: the charity, Fablevision (a company limited by guarantee with charitable status) which has two independent regulatory bodies in Companies House and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and the social enterprise, Fablevision Studios which is a company limited by . We have legal, financial, cultural planning, employability, education and media expertise on the boards which meets monthly. There is some overlap between the charity and Studios boards but the Studios board has more than 50% of its membership who are ex volunteers of the Studios (who have come through the programme).