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1,000 Voices of Care

Celebrating 10 years of the Voices creative writing competition

This summer, we came together to mark a decade of Voices, Coram Voice’s creative writing competition for care-experienced children and young people.

About 1,000 Voices

The 1,000 Voices of Care celebration brought together young people, previous winners, judges, partners and supporters to reflect on ten years of creativity and the many different ways young people have used their voices to share their experiences, ideas and stories. 

The event, sponsored by the data and tech consultancy Transform, was hosted by broadcaster and author Ashley John-Baptiste. Former competition judges Baroness Lola Young, E.L. Norry, Chris Wild, Deborah Maclaren and Jordan Morgan also joined the celebrations, which included a panel discussion, reflecting on the impact of the competition over the years. 

You can view a timeline of how the Voices competition started below.

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Over 1,000

children and young people have shared their poems, stories, songs and raps since 2016, reflecting their diverse experiences of care

In 2017

the competition also platformed the voices of young people of migrant and refugee backgrounds

In 2020

the competition received its highest number of entries, with a special category dedicated to experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic

Creative output

The event celebrated eight creative achievers from across the history of the Voices competition, alongside live readings, performances, reflections and conversations about why opportunities for young people to express themselves matter. Most importantly, it was a celebration of the children and young people at the heart of Voices – and of what can happen when young people are given the confidence, freedom and platform to tell their own stories.

Read the winning entries of the Creative Achiever award in the Voices Anthology flipbook below or download a PDF version here. You can also listen to some of the winners performing their pieces in the video below.

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“When people think about care experience, they can sometimes focus on systems, policies, statistics or challenges. Those things matter, of course. But what this competition has consistently done is shine a light on the individuals behind those conversations. We see the power of young people’s voices when they are given the opportunity to be heard.”
Ashley John-Baptiste
BBC broadcast journalist and presenter
"It's about the power of the word. It's about how you articulate an experience, whether it's deeply painful or deeply joyful, whether it makes you feel like you're amazing or it makes you feel like you're horrible. The experiences that you've had. Being able to articulate that is such a positive and powerful thing... Writing is the path to being incredibly articulate and being able to say what you want and how you want what it is you want delivered. So write, write, write anything."
Baroness Lola Young speaking at the event
Member of the House of Lords

Explore more

Read all the entries and find out more about this special celebration in the Voices Anthology. You can also find out more about the work of Coram Voice, who support care experienced children and young people to know their rights and advocate for themselves.

Read Anthology About Coram Voice