Illumina join the RARE Youth Revolution to support the 2021 intern programme for young people affected by rare disease

00:01 BST Thursday 15th October 2020

The RARE Youth Revolution today announce the launch of their “Illuminating RARE Talent” intern programme with support from Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN), a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies.

Through the RARE Youth Revolution project, the young rare community have identified securing work experience and internships amongst their biggest challenges, with many denied the opportunity early on during the standard secondary school work experience programme.
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The Illuminating RARE Talent programme will provide both short and longer-term intern placements for young people affected by rare disease, from secondary school age onwards. 

Nicola Miller explains that, “There is still a great deal of misinformation around rare disease and the capabilities of those affected, resulting in young people missing out on the vital upskilling and opportunities afforded to their peers. This programme aims to provide valuable mentorship and work experience to allow our young community to reach their full potential and demonstrate and nurture their talents. We hope this programme will also educate employers, demystifying the relationship between employment and those with disabilities or complex health needs.” 
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Intern positions will be made through trusted partner companies and will offer a variety of roles across the UK and US initially. “By working with our project partners, we hope to see this programme grow to include companies from across the globe offering diverse positions.” Nicola Miller.

Illumina supporting the path ahead

“We are delighted to have Illumina support this initiative. Their support will enable us to recruit a full-time youth co-ordinator position for the 2021 programme. This person will be responsible for coordinating the intern programme as well as the wider project and is in itself an intern opportunity with recruitment from within our richly talented rare youth community.” Nicola Miller.
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“At Illumina, our mission is to improve human health by unlocking the power of the genome. We are delighted to be partnering with RARE Revolution on this initiative which extends this philosophy by aiming to unlock the power of the individual with a rare disease through intern placements, and help them realise the potential they hold within themselves. Such programmes are powerful on many levels and help change the way society interprets rare diseases.” Shirlene Badger, Patient Advocacy EMEA, Illumina.

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About RARE Youth Revolution
The RARE Youth Revolution is powering up young RARE voices and empowering a future generation of rare disease advocates. RARE Youth Revolution is an initiative by RARE Revolution Magazine (a first of its kind digital magazine giving a voice to those affected by rare conditions, the charities that represent and support them and industry professionals). The initial concept was a dedicated youth programme, empowering children and young people to have their RARE voices heard by supporting them with a structured mentoring and work experience programme, where they produced their own online magazine RARE Revolution Magazine Youth Takeover!

This online launch marks a big step toward reaching more young people globally, to elevate more voices and to help more children and young people gain valuable experience in media,
​storytelling, and advocacy.

For businesses interested in joining the trusted intern partner scheme contact Rebecca on rstewart@rarerevolutionmagazine.com