Xplode Magazine

Saeed Atcha , United Kingdom

Saeed founded Xplode Magazine in 2011 to give young people opportunities to improve their employability prospects through learning business and media skills. Xplode Magazine’s content is written by over 100 young volunteers, reaching a total viewership of 35,000 people. Young people write articles on topics ranging from health to sports and popular culture. Saeed developed Xplode Employ as a programme to improve the employability of secondary school students, reaching 2,500 students to date and with ambitions to reach 10,000 students in Greater Manchester by the end of 2019. Together with corporate partners, the Xplode team teach students how to structure a CV, how to conduct a job search and how to prepare for interviews. The third branch of this organisation is called Xplode Academy and it was started more recently with the aim of helping primary school children develop independent learning skills. Xplode Academy empowers children aged 10-11 to create their own magazines on issues that they care about. Pupils work together as 'real' journalists writing stories, taking pictures and working towards deadlines. Since attending the One Young World 2014 Dublin Summit, Saeed has grown the organisation due to the motivation, drive and skills he was equipped with at the Summit.