WME is teaming up with Idris and Sabrina Elba’s Hope Foundation to help young people access creative career development and employment opportunities, TheWrap can reveal exclusively.
Through its free professional development program WME NXT, the agency will launch a digital masterclass developed in partnership with the Hope Foundation’s Creative Futures initiative that draws on members of Idris Elba’s creative and business ecosystem.
Using his multi-hyphenate career as a case study, the masterclass will explore the relationships, collaborations and decision-making that powers successful creative careers across entertainment and adjacent industries.
The partnership will also include a series of in-person learning experiences in both the U.K. and the U.S., bringing together emerging creatives and industry leaders for conversations about access, opportunity and building sustainable careers in the creative industries.
“Creative Futures is about building pathways into industries that young people might not otherwise see as accessible,” Elba said in a statement. “Through the foundation, Sabrina and I are committed to expanding opportunity and creating routes into sustainable careers.”
Since launching in the United Kingdom in 2024, Creative Futures has provided access to practical training, mentorship, industry exposure and professional networks, with a focus on expanding access to creative and future-facing careers.
The program, which was developed in partnership with The King’s Trust, has supported programming across film, television, music, visual arts, events and entrepreneurship.
“Creative Futures was created to open doors for young people who have the talent and ambition to build creative careers, but not always the access, networks or information to see a pathway in,” Elba Hope Foundation Executive Director Marsha Reid added. “This collaboration with WME NXT gives us a powerful way to introduce Creative Futures in the U.S. by showing young people not only Idris’ journey, but the wider ecosystem of people, decisions and relationships that make creative work possible.”
Meanwhile, WME NXT is designed to broaden access to the entertainment industry through digital learning, case studies, live conversations, and direct engagement with artists, agents, executives and industry leaders.
Since launching in 2020, it has reached more than 27,000 participants across the United States, Africa and other global markets. It has also led to 60 hires across WME and its affiliates, with additional placements at Disney, HBO and MACRO.
“Idris has built a career that demonstrates the power of thinking beyond traditional lanes, and Creative Futures translates that experience into tangible opportunity for the next generation,” WME’s Head of Community and Impact Jeanell English said in a statement. “This collaboration brings Creative Futures’ insights and approach to WME NXT 2026 while helping establish a meaningful foundation for its work in the United States.”
In addition to Elba, WME NXT has previously featured speakers including Ryan Reynolds, Marshawn Lynch and Ari Emanuel.
The post Idris Elba’s Hope Foundation, WME NXT Team Up to Expand Creative Futures Initiative | Exclusive appeared first on TheWrap.
