The artistic director of the charity behind Kingston’s International Youth Arts Festival (IYAF) will be leaving the post after seven years.

Aniela Zaba, Creative Youth director, will be stepping down at the end of this month.

The IYAF Festival, put on by Creative Youth, has been a calendar event in the borough for the past six years and has brought some of the country’s most talented up-and-coming writers, actors and musicians to the town.

Miss Zaba, 30, is taking a two-month break to go travelling before returning to work as a freelancer on various festivals and events.

She will remain involved with Creative Youth as a trustee.

Miss Zaba said: “After seven years of running IYAF and it being the most incredible experience of my life, which I am prouder of than anything I’ve ever been involved in, I’m having a couple of months’ break travelling and when I come back returning to being a freelancer on various festivals and events.

Surrey Comet: Aniela Zaba

Aniela Zaba is stepping down as Creative Youth's artistic director

“I feel really blessed to have worked with such an inspiring group of people, including the 23,000 young people we have worked with since I started in 2009. Whoever gets to step into my role is a very lucky person.”

Meanwhile applications for next year’s festival, which will include theatre, music, dance, film, visual arts, comedy, circus acts, street performances and workshops, have now opened.

Last year’s festival boasted more than 4,000 participants in 320 events over 23 days across 18 venues in the borough.

But this year organisers are inviting participants to get on board to make the festival between July 3 to July 19 even bigger and better.

For more information and to get involved, visit iyafestival.org.