The opportunity issue

Guest editor Amelia Dimoldenberg has brought together a diverse team of contributors for this special edition, focusing on boosting opportunities in the creative industries. One of the most influential voices of her generation, Dimoldenberg created Chicken Shop Date when she was just 17 – a YouTube series that has amassed hundreds of millions of views and has celebrities queuing up to take part. In 2025 she was named one of the 100 most influential digital voices by Time magazine. Dimoldenberg launched her Dimz Inc. Academy last year to increase access for young people in the arts. Speaking of the youth centres that have closed across the UK in recent years, she told us: “You cannot shape a brighter future if you refuse to invest in the foundation. With this guest edit I wanted to showcase the incredible initiatives, charities, courses and people who seek to inspire our talented youth of today.” At a time when the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) has exceeded one million, this message is needed more urgently than ever.

Also inside

• How Big Issue is tackling the NEET crisis: supporting job candidates via Big Issue Recruit, and funding the next generation of entrepreneurs through Big Issue Invest
• How did a million young people fall off the career ladder? One man spent 18 months travelling the country to find out
• We interview guest editor Amelia Dimoldenberg, who explains her vision for Dimz Inc. Academy and offers some advice for employers
• One-time Big Issue cover star Maya Jama found fame as a TV presenter; now she’s a mentor for others, using her own contact book
• How Tomorrow’s Warriors are opening doors for young musical talent, all the way to the Mercury Prize
• Bella Roberts doesn’t let her disability get in the way of her dream to work in filmmaking – or her capacity to ride a motorbike
• Jordan Stephens is one half of Rizzle Kicks, and he’s also passionate about making space to nurture new talent
• When the Edinburgh Fringe costs performers thousands to appear, why do they all still want to go?
• Munya Chawawa and Jack Rooke compare comedy notes
• Loyle Carner found cooking helped with his ADHD as a child. So he opened a cookery school for others like him

And much more

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