Amelia Dimoldenberg knows firsthand the impact a youth club can have. In fact, if she didn’t attend one 16 years ago, “Chicken Shop Date” — her viral celebrity talk show that has amassed her nearly 3 million followers and become a cultural touchstone — wouldn’t exist. What started as a column for a youth magazine at a club in North London has now been running for over a decade, with several of the other students Dimoldenberg met there going on the journey with her.
Academy, a free in-person summer academy for 18 to 24-year-olds from underserved communities interested in the creative industries. Developed in conjunction with youth charity Spiral Skills and hosted in Young Creators U.K.’s South London studio space, the five-day program saw 18 young people create their own show concepts while learning how to operate camera equipment, work in a production team, edit videos, market their ideas and even shadow a “Chicken Shop Date” shoot. It was an immense success, with graduates of the first Dimz Inc. going on to land jobs at YCUK, the BBC and Google.
However, this year, Dimoldenberg wanted to aim higher and decided to expand the program to four weeks. Speaking to Variety from YCUK’s studio space during week three, Dimoldenberg — who is hands on at every session — says the advantages of a month-long program are undeniable. From there, each person in the respective teams was given a role — presenter, director, producer, camera operator, editor and more — with workshops delivered from professionals in those areas who are part of Dimoldenberg’s network.
I wanted it to be a place where you could learn about all the different roles about the industry,” she says. Academy, it’s editing week, and the studio space is buzzing with lively conversation as participants try to whittle their projects down to five minutes. Working with professional editors from Dimoldenberg’s network, the students also learn how to use Adobe Premiere Pro — and thanks to a partnership with Adobe this year, they all get a one-year subscription of the suite for free.
Grace Bower, a 21-year-old from Rotherham in South Yorkshire, is feeling the editing crush. She worked as a camera and sound operator on the interview video, which saw internet personality Victor Kunda giving advice to viewers with relationship issues. Bower applied to the Dimz Inc.
Academy after participating in a youth workshop Dimoldenberg held last year as part of the 10-year celebration of “Chicken Shop Date,” and says the program has “actually exceeded my expectations in every way.” “I’ve never been able to access opportunities like this [in Rotherham],” she says. According to a recent report from the Department for Work and Pensions, over 1 million young people in the U.K. are considered NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), with mental health, anxiety and neurodivergence as significant contributing factors. This is especially rampant within the creative industries as barriers to entry can include relevant training, geographical location, socioeconomic status and lack of industry “connections.” These are exactly the type of barriers that Spiral Skills hopes to break down, especially through its partnership with Dimz Inc.
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