Robert Redford is collaborating with officials at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design to launch a new scholarship program for emerging artists and filmmakers.

The Sting star is endorsing the scheme, which will start in 2013, and will personally select the lucky recipients each year in conjunction with the Milagro Initiative, a local and global research drive.

The Unique Voice Scholarship covers all tuition and living costs of the chosen student who must "represent the voice of indigenous people from the U.S. or around the world."

The Emerging Artist Scholarships will be presented to a variable number of students each year and will support them in their chosen artistic field.

Redford says, "It is an honor to collaborate with this exciting institution in choosing scholarship recipients for the next generation of storytellers, as it will be this generation of artists who will provoke thought and inspire significant change throughout the 21st Century."