Loud and clear – supporting diverse voices in mountain culture

‘Open Mountain: Inclusion and Connection’ is a new initiative for under-represented voices at Kendal Mountain Literature Festival 2019

The John Muir Trust is supporting a new initiative as part of the Kendal Mountain Literature Festival that will promote awareness of issues of inclusion and exclusion in our wildest places, giving a voice to groups often under-represented in our stories and conversations about wildness.

The event, Open Mountain: Inclusion and Connection offers five performance slots to individuals including disabled writers; those from ethnic, cultural and religious minorities; those from the LGBTQ+ community; and those from low-income and working class backgrounds, who submit pieces for the event.

Kevin Lelland, Head of Development and Communications at the Trust, said: “Everyone should be supported to discover and share what wildness means to them, so we welcome this initiative to encourage greater diversity in mountain and outdoors writing and performance. We are really pleased to see the Kendal Mountain Literature Festival bring this initiative forward and we'll do our best to help promote it and what it stands for."

Earlier this year, the Trust supported an open access day at Schiehallion, and is currently developing a brand new low-level all abilities path looking onto the conical Highland Perthshire mountain.

Open Mountain: Inclusion and Connection will be held on the afternoon of Saturday 16 November, at Kendal Mountain Literature Festival 2019. The deadline for performance slot entries is the end of August 2019.

Photograph from last year's Kendal Mountain Festival. Credit: Helen Mason.