We are pleased to announce that Callum Bruce-Phillips has joined The National Lottery Community Fund’s Wales Committee. He joins as part of our Youth Voice programme, a commitment to ensuring that young people’s voices help shape our strategy ‘It Starts with Community.’  

Callum, who resides in Swansea, brings an array of experiences and passion to the role. He works part-time as an engagement volunteer coordinator for Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, dedicating his efforts to providing young people with both paid and voluntary opportunities in the museum sector.  

Additionally, Callum is actively involved in youth sessional work for YMCA Swansea, where he contributes to various youth clubs, including young carers groups and LGBT+ clubs. Callum also sits on the board of directors of ‘mess up the mess’, a youth theatre group based in Ammanford. His commitment to empowering young people and fostering community engagement makes him a valuable addition to the committee.  

In this Q+A with Callum, we learned more about why he decided to join the Wales Committee and what he’s looking forward to the most. 

What motivated you to join the Wales Committee? 

“It’s a great opportunity to represent young people and bring a young person’s perspective onto the committee.  

“There might be some things that the committee may not have considered in relation to young people, and I would love to offer a youth voice perspective and have the opportunity to influence decision making.  

“In addition, it will be interesting to see what it’s like to be on the other side of a funder as opposed to being involved in an organisation that is seeking funding. I think it will help me personally in the sense of just knowing how everything works and networking with people across the whole of Wales.” 

What positive changes would you like to achieve? 

“I would love to show that having young people in these types of committees, at these levels of governance, is effective and important. 

“I’m hoping this can be a blueprint for other organisations to include more young people within their governance. We need to be at those tables where decisions are being made, and it’s important to have the next generation present when deciding things that could impact them.” 

Is there anything you’re looking forward to getting involved in? 

“I’m looking forward to the decision making and seeing how all these processes work. It’s very much a balancing act, so just seeing it from the other side and being able to understand the reasoning and rationale behind the processes of giving funding will be interesting.” 

John Rose, Wales Director of The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Callum to the Wales Committee. His deep understanding of youth work in Wales, combined with his lived experience of young people’s challenges and aspirations, will be an invaluable asset to our to our Wales Committee.”     

Committee members’ primary role is to utilise their knowledge of the third sector and strategic thinking to help provide direction for The National Lottery Community Fund in Wales, providing un-biased input to our grant making committees and being ambassadors for the organisation.  

 To find out more about the members of the Wales committee, head to https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/about/our-people/wales-committee.