North Belfast Woman's 'Project: Own Your Space' Inspires Young People to Challenge Stereotypes
Savana Knocker, a 23-year-old North Belfast woman and Miss GB Belfast finalist, has launched 'Project: Own Your Space' — an online platform that interviews people from diverse backgrounds to inspire young people and challenge the stereotypes that still shape career choices across Northern Ireland and beyond.
Background
Knocker's motivation for the project is deeply personal. Working in the car sales industry, she encountered the kind of casual sexism that remains stubbornly embedded in one of the UK's most male-dominated sectors. Women account for less than 10% of sales teams in car dealerships across Britain, and research suggests that 94% of women distrust car dealerships — a figure that speaks to an industry that has long struggled to make female customers and employees feel welcome. For Knocker, the experience was a catalyst rather than a deterrent.
The Miss Great Britain Belfast pageant, in which Knocker competed as a finalist, provided an unexpected springboard. Far from the outdated image of beauty competitions, the Miss GB system has evolved into a platform that emphasises female empowerment, inclusivity, and charitable advocacy. The 2024 Belfast final alone featured contestants from backgrounds as varied as student midwifery, film production, and disability support work — each with their own cause to champion. For Knocker, the experience reinforced her belief that young women needed visible role models across every profession.
Belfast already has a strong tradition of youth empowerment initiatives, from Include Youth's mentoring programmes to the Ardoyne Youth Enterprise's leadership training in North Belfast. 'Project: Own Your Space' adds a digital dimension to this ecosystem, reaching young people where they already spend their time — online.
Key Developments
The platform centres on a series of interviews with people from diverse professional and personal backgrounds, each sharing their journey into careers that might not have seemed obvious or accessible to them. The format is deliberately accessible: short, honest conversations designed to resonate with teenagers and young adults who may be navigating their own questions about identity, ambition, and belonging. Knocker has been clear that the project is not about telling young people what to do, but about showing them what is possible.
The response since launch has been encouraging, with the platform attracting attention from schools and youth organisations across Northern Ireland. Knocker has announced plans to take 'Project: Own Your Space' directly into classrooms and youth groups, bringing the conversations off-screen and into communities where the need for positive representation is greatest. She has spoken of her ambition to reach young people in areas of North Belfast where economic disadvantage and entrenched social expectations can narrow horizons from an early age.
Why It Matters
The statistics on gender representation in the UK workforce make uncomfortable reading. Women make up just 15% of the construction workforce, around 10% of mining and quarrying roles, and fewer than 20% of the overall automotive sector. These figures are not simply the result of individual preference — they reflect decades of cultural messaging that steers girls away from certain careers before they are old enough to make genuinely informed choices. Research from the House of Commons Library consistently shows that occupational segregation remains one of the primary drivers of the gender pay gap in the United Kingdom.
Projects like 'Own Your Space' matter precisely because they intervene at the point where attitudes are formed. By presenting real people in real careers — not polished corporate case studies, but honest accounts of doubt, persistence, and unexpected success — Knocker is offering young people in Belfast and beyond a more honest map of what the world of work can look like.
Local Impact
In Northern Ireland, where youth unemployment and economic inactivity rates have historically run above the UK average, initiatives that broaden young people's sense of what is achievable carry particular weight. North Belfast, where Knocker grew up, has communities that have faced generations of economic marginalisation alongside the legacy of the Troubles. The ambition to bring 'Project: Own Your Space' into schools and youth groups in these areas is not merely inspirational — it is a practical intervention in a city that continues to grapple with inequality of opportunity. Belfast's young people deserve to see themselves reflected in every profession, and Knocker's project is a meaningful step in that direction.
What's Next
Knocker has indicated that the platform will continue to grow its library of interviews, with a particular focus on featuring voices from Northern Ireland and the wider island of Ireland. Conversations with schools and youth organisations about in-person visits are ongoing, and there is potential for the project to attract partnership support from employers and community organisations keen to demonstrate their commitment to diversity and inclusion. For a 23-year-old who turned a frustrating experience in a car showroom into a platform for change, the trajectory of 'Project: Own Your Space' looks genuinely promising. Belfast Live: Miss Great Britain Belfast finalists | House of Commons Library: Women and the UK economy
