Having reflected on 40 years of DUCFS last year, our 2024 show - Age of Inception - explores the concept of beginnings and innovation, celebrating positive human potential and looking to the future.

This year we are delighted to be partnering with Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to support them in taking a stand against suicide and striving to create a better future. Every week 125 people in the UK take their own lives. CALM exists to change this - by offering life-saving services, provoking national conversation, and bringing people together to reject living miserably.

DUCFS 2024 hopes to raise enough to fund 2 extra phone lines on CALM's helpline, which could allow 19,574 more potentially life-saving phone calls to be taken annually, as well as an educational campaign in the North East, which has the highest rate of suicides in England. This campaign will seek to educate young people in the region on the risks of suicide and how to seek support.

Our 2024 campaign will also be supporting DUCFS Launchpad. This is our new independent outreach platform that aims to ignite change throughout the North East, through projects focused on the creative arts, music and community.

#THEFUTUREISNOW

100% of all profit from fundraising activity throughout this partnership will be split between CALM and Launchpad. All profits raised after the agreed £7,000 (which is being donated to Launchpad), up to the value of £180,000 will be donated to CALM. Any profit in excess of this agreed £187,000 shall be split equally between CALM and Launchpad.