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You Press and Park Theatre present
Voices of the Movement
You Press is a social enterprise based in London, which is currently run by volunteers and creative artists to support young writers and poets to bring their words and art to a wider audience. Our projects involve empowering young people and silent communities to find their voice and be heard. This involves challenging stereotypes and stigmas about young people, tackling social issues and community engagement (through creative arts and writing).
At You Press we believe in the power of words and stories to change lives for the better and our mission is to use creative arts and writing to empower people to find their voice and be heard.
Natasha Chandra founded a non-profit youth theatre company in her home town in India aged 17 and began directing adaptations of wellknown plays, encouraging school and college students from both public and private institutes to explore their talents in the arts.
Through staging various productions between 2008 and 2012, her company raised money for a charity that provided urgent medical attention to women and children in the rural parts of her state. Many of the youngsters that began their discovery of the arts within her company went on to pursue theatre, graphic design and musical theatre in prestigious universities in USA and U.K. Including TISCH NYU, UCLA and Lough Borough University. Some even went on to gain roles in the South Indian film industry.
Alongside this, Natasha qualified in Film and Drama from Queen Mary, University of London. She then went on to intern at an indie film company in New York where she became involved in distributing documentaries about sensitive and controversial subjects. Since her return she has been facilitating and leading the Creative Learning program at The Park theatre and has assistant and directing credits at Theatre Royal, Stratford East, The White Bear, The Etcetra and RichMix.
Ali Russell – Graphic designer & Filmmaker
Aimee Valinski is a talented photographer with a great passion and a steady focus for life, for social justice and for the true beauty of the world. Rejoicing each new day that brings a new opportunity. She began her photography journey in 2010 and through hard work, she now specializes in; photographing, documentary, events, nature, portraits, travel and weddings.
Throughout her work, love, passion and wonder, she has embraced many cultures and she energetically loves working with diverse peoples (communities) and environments. She blossoms in creativity, drawing inspiration and paying close attention to the movements and details of all life. Since 2014 she has been an active supporter of You Press and has produced incredible project photographs that have had positive impact on diverse communities. Aimee is the You Press Photographer and she is keen to support You Press to achieve its vision and mission to empower people to find their voice and be heard through writing and creative arts.
Chris Dias is You Press‟ filmmaker, leading on the project videos, films and documentaries. He has a deep interest in the natural world and human stories. His work is mostly in the visual medium, namely film and photography.
Chris likes to create work that gives the viewer the opportunity to let their imagination and knowledge inform what they see. He has worked in the visual arts for the past 4 years and he is continuing to hone his style. Chris is especially fond of documentary as he feels it is the most powerful form of telling real stories.
Edward Rogers is a hobbyist artist, creative designer, level 26 beard tamer and graphic art worker. He‟s been inspired and influenced by comic books, video games and other visual mediums over the year. He hopes that his material will inspire others to write and create so they can learn to bring their own ideas to life and tell and share their own stories with pride.
On this project Edward will be working with Jan Yavuz to create the future-self avatars (of the participants).
Born in Turkey, Jan Yavuz’s family came over to the UK with refugee status when she was one. Currently working in financial services, she has a strong interest in social justice and illustration.
As a new-comer to You Press she‟s keen to contribute in making their important messages as engaging as possible. On this project Jan will be working with Edward Rogers to create the future-self avatars (of the participants).
Adika Paton is a self-employed music producer /engineer. He runs different workshops with young students mentoring/teaching music production, engineering and music business.
He has collaborated with You Press and has helped to record three project albums to help give a voice to those who need to be heard. Adika runs a music studio full time, recording local talent and helping them to get their material out. His work ranges from spoken word to live band recording.
Najm is a recent Business and Economics graduate currently working in Corporate Social Responsibility at MUFG Bank of Tokyo UFJ. He aspires to one day become a social entrepreneur who can help disadvantaged young people around the world.
Alongside his keen interest in Economics, Najm is passionate about many causes; his dedication to young people was recognised by Uprising's Emerging Leaders Advisory Board of which he is now a member, and his passion for helping those in need inspired him to co-found photography-based refugee awareness campaign "I, Too, Am Human". Najm joined You Press in March 2015 as a volunteer, and is now the social enterprise’s Project and Engagement Facilitator after assisting with projects with the homeless, ex-offenders and victims of genocide – even contributing his first creative piece at I Remember Srebrenica!
Vivian Wong was born in Hong Kong and moved to Toronto, Canada with her family at the age of 6. She graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Science with a major in Biochemistry on the Dean’s Honour List. In 2014, Vivian moved to London and works in digital marketing in the finance industry.
Vivian has a passion for dancing Bachata, Salsa and Kizomba and is an avid traveller gaining different experiences and perspectives and has a keen interest in hearing about other people's life stories.
Vanja Pupavac works as a Product Manager in London, for a freelance web platform start-up. She is a graduate of the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, Canada, and has previously worked for the Canadian government as a Youth Services Officer, assisting young people improve their employability skills.
In her spare time, Vanja enjoys meeting new people, and reading about topics of interest, including education and youth employment.