What Was Rife?

Rife magazine was a digital platform that amplified the voices, opinions, thoughts and stories of young people, through social media, videos and essays. At its peak Rife boasted a regular monthly audience of 25k people, all wanting to know what these young voices thought, wanted, craveed and know.

All the content on Rife was made and curated by people under 25. The direction of travel for the platform was decided by young people. If we are to take seriously these voices, and give them opportunity to grow and feel confidence and feel like their opinions are valued, then they need space, mentoring, time and money.

And that’s just what Rife offered its content creators in one way or another. We paid and trained 35 content creators, the vast majority of which now work in the creative industries, where they offer fresh ideas that are creating change.

The opportunity to get paid to be creative should be open to all. Inclusion is crucial to the creative sector if it is to remain fresh, rich, relevant and resonate with diverse audiences.  

The creative industries need staffing. And part of Rife’s journey was to equip young people to be ready to take on those jobs. We did this by networking, by myth-busting and breaking down what different jobs are available and what skills you might need. And also cheerleading for the creative industries. Because schools are being met with budget cuts, and the largest impact of these is on the arts. There is a real focus on traditional professional jobs. So we try and provide routes for young people.

Rife – Watershed’s platform co-created with young people – identified and cultivated talent.

Ended in July 2022

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