Youmanity is a UK-based organisation founded in 2008, registered as a

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

in May 2018, and based in London.

Charity work

Youmanity sponsors an annual photography award, mental health and education projects.

Youmanity Award for photography

Since 2010, the organisation has held an annual photography competition, focused on cultural diversity, with a £1,000 prize. Each competition has a theme. In 2012, for example, the theme was "Migration, Stories of a Journey". In 2019 the theme was "Friend-Ship"; Debdatta Chakraborty was the winner for his shot of the Sheroes Hangout café in India. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the theme was "Friend-Ship During Challenging Times". The winner was ‘A kiss from across the miles’ by Nicola Parker, a mobile screenshot taken during lockdown portraying an 80-year-old

grandmother Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetics, ge ...

blowing a kiss from a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

Youmanity education project

In 2019, Youmanity led a two-year

student-centred learning Student-centered learning, also known as learner-centered education, broadly encompasses methods of teaching that shift the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student. In original usage, student-centered learning aims to develop lear ...

project to support vulnerable children at risk of abandoning education. The 2SMILE project was funded by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

's Erasmus Programme.

'Chill-out' train carriages

In October 2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and ahead of

World Mental Health Day World Mental Health Day (10 October) is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global m ...

, it devised a '

mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...

' campaign featuring the world's first 'chill-out' train carriages, plus 'meditation corners' in stations, to reduce commuter anxiety. Project collaborators included wellbeing movement Thrive LDN and the Braincharge meditation app, with users able to listen to rustling trees and birdsong, plus soothing music, while waiting for trains. As well as gaining attention in London media, the initiative was reported in US publication ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''.

References

{{reflist

External links

official website
Non-profit organisations based in London Visual arts awards