Philip Lawrence Awards 2008 graphic design and photography: Laura Bowman, Sarah Brenkley, Sarah Burnett, Eleanor Goodwin, Kingston University. Cover photograph models: Bes Bejupi, Bled Bejupi, Danny Brown, Zainab Khan-Aanchawan, Aaron Lee Khan Baines, Elahe Mizande, Laden Mizande, Lilian Ngalaba, Page 10 – 11: Sourav Roy, Page 14 –15: Tanya Basten, Danielle Khan. Published by 4Children. ISSN 1752-9654
Thanks to all projects for photographs, images and contributions supplied to illustrate their achievements.
of greatness Contents 4. Celebrating Great Young People
Jennifer Black introduces The Philip Lawrence Awards
6.
Where are they now?
Sir Trevor McDonald presents updates from past winners
8.
B Inspired by Flava
How dance has inspired young people to achieve
10.
Introducing... This Year’s Winners
Showcasing this year’s Award-winning projects. Introduced by the Rt. Hon Jacqui Smith MP, Home Secretary
16.
Raising Aspirations
Ian Brady, Department for Children, Schools and Families
18.
Behind the Scenes
Young people at the heart of the Awards scheme
20. Focus On: Challenging Prejudice
Ali Mohamadi from Dreamers, tells us about the group’s progress since wining an award in 2005
21. Focus On: Positive Changes
Pearl Amoateng from 2006 winning group Let’s Be Positive tells us about the project’s developments
22. Thank You
Acknowledging all those who have made The Philip Lawrence Awards 2008 happen
Introducing The Philip Lawrence Awards, 2003 winner Jennifer Black. ‘Every child is capable of greatness.’ As a head teacher that is what Philip Lawrence believed. He educated, inspired and cared for many young people throughout his life. Sadly in December 1995, Philip was murdered after going to the aid of one of his pupils.
Over a decade later Frances Lawrence carries on his memory with The Philip Lawrence Awards. Every year in December, friends, supporters and previous winners gather at a prestigious ceremony to celebrate the Philip Lawrence Award winners. The 2008 winning groups come from across the United Kingdom with many different projects which share one special thing; they are making a difference in their communities. The Awards scheme was created to commemorate and remember Philip for his commitment to young people and the belief he had in them. Philip’s widow, Frances, noticed at the time of his death that there was immense negativity surrounding young people: “When Philip was murdered there was huge press attention and widespread debate implied that violent gangs and young people were synonymous, as if all young people were at fault.”
Inspired by Philip and her own attitude towards young people, Frances decided to do something more. She wanted to keep her husband’s beliefs alive, so that the youth of today could continue to benefit from his wisdom: “Philip spent his whole life with young people trying to bring out the best in them; he loved them, not just his own children but his students too. He chose to work with young people who were living in difficult circumstances so he could draw out the best in them.” So, she got together with Michael Howard, who was Home Secretary at the time, and the first Philip Lawrence Awards were presented in 1997. Today the Awards are going from strength to strength. Everyone who is involved with the Awards knows first hand Frances’ dedication in her determination to keep the scheme new and fresh for every winning year. Steve Proctor, 29, became involved with the Awards after his group won in 1999:
“Frances Lawrence is inspirational and provides direction for the Awards but also stays true to the stuff that was important in the beginning. The Awards represent a diverse family that isn’t separated by class, financial income, ethnicity or education; we all have a shared experience. We have all overcome adversity to achieve something for ourselves and our community or other people.” As everyone gathers to celebrate this year’s winners it is clear that Philip’s legacy lives on and that every child is indeed capable of greatness. In this year’s magazine you will read stories of people who have a vision, who are challenging the status quo and are determined to succeed. These young people are making a difference by shaping the future for themselves and their community.
“Seeing young people get recognition and respect for taking the initiative and choosing to improve the world around them for the better, is just fantastic. The Philip Lawrence Awards are doing just that - showcasing how talented our young people really are. The winners this year are an inspiration to us all.” Jimmy Doherty Documentary presenter and founder of Jimmy’s Farm
“We’ve been involved with The Philip Lawrence Awards for 8 years now and every year we look forward to it! The Awards are inspirational for young people and give them recognition of their positive input within their community.” Elahe Mizande, Laden Mizande, Lilian Ngalaba 2001 Philip Lawrence Award winners
“It is heartening that the tragic death of Philip Lawrence has created something good in the legacy of The Philip Lawrence Awards. The winners demonstrate the huge potential that young people have to change society for the better.” Katie Melua singer/songwriter and musician
“The Philip Lawrence Awards help encourage young people from across the country who contribute to their local communities and the lives of others. This Award show gives out a positive message on how young people can mentor each other – showing how youth can all work together. Peace.” Lemar singer/songwriter
The Philip Lawrence Awards offer winning projects the opportunity to receive extra recognition in their community and a boost to their own motivation and confidence. For some, winning a Philip Lawrence Award is just the start of a string of achievements, for others it’s a culmination of years of hard work. Here are just a few of the past winners and their news. Sir Trevor McDonald OBE, Chair of the Philip Lawrence Awards Judging Panel.
Based: Sheffield, South Yorkshire
We work to actively improve and develop the physical environment around our local estate and in turn, the relationship among residents. It started because we wanted to address the issues of graffiti, vandalism, rubbish and anti-social behaviour on the estate and the bad feelings this caused. We successfully lobbied the community forum for better play provision and improved conditions on the estate via a ‘good, the bad and the ugly’ photographic audit. The recognition and feedback from the community, residents and local schools has been excellent. We have grown in confidence and self-esteem and some of us have since gone on to college or work.
Potential employers have been impressed by the Philip Lawrence Award and the work we did to get it. Winning the award has also encouraged other young people to want to do the same. We have carried on the work we started on the estate, and taken it further to run an intensive four–week summer programme with younger people, buddying them in watersports, outdoor pursuits and the use of the multi–sport area. This term we are supporting a new group around healthy eating and healthy activity, and a new ‘Recycle Cycle’ project will also begin soon with a detached street group who have anti-social behaviour orders. E donna.jones@sheffieldfutures.org.uk
Past winners of the Philip Lawrence Awards tell us what they’ve been up to since…
Based: Norfolk
An anti-bullying project for young people, with information and advice in both English and Portuguese. Started by Air Cadets with a zero tolerance on bullying, Just Smile! was developed from a successful internet safety project. The project includes a radio show, regular radio appearances, an anti-bullying DVD, game, website, Smile information pack, and Smile message boxes. When we won the Philip Lawrence Award we were amazed. It proved that our project was working and raising the awareness of bullying. We could afford more merchandise with the money from the Award and now every school in Norfolk who wanted one has a Smile information pack, and we are in the middle of delivering Smile message boxes to them. We have since gone on to win the Change It award and we are now planning to go national with our Smile boxes! www.justsmile.org.uk
Based: Castlederg, Northern Ireland
“We felt that at last someone was taking notice of what work we are doing. To be awarded not only with the Philip Lawrence Awards title but the prize money as well, to put back into our organisation and promote further what we are about, was fantastic.” The Philip Lawrence Award is ‘what it says on the tin’ – recognition for teenagers who work hard to make a difference and we all have benefited here by winning it. It is a highly recognised award and we are chuffed to possess it. It has boosted our confidence and determination to carry on the work we do and puts Castlederg on the map.
Castlederg Youth Forum committee members represent various areas, churches and schools and they lead by example – showing others that it is acceptable to speak to people in a different school uniform or from a different church. They work hard on peer education focusing on issues such as religion, drugs and alcohol, depression and other social issues that affect them. As committee members move on, another member is elected to take their place. We have now launched a new drop-in service open in the evenings and at weekends (7pm–12am) where young people can come together and chill out in a neutral environment, keeping them off the streets, away from underage drinking and drug taking and giving them better choices and activities. Our plan for the future is to continue and to grow. Young people deserve a voice and we are here to help them use it!
Based: Walworth, London
Philip Lawrence Award winners in 2007, this cinema for young people – run by young people – has been developed in an underused community space. We are now recognised as a positive project, and are role models for other young people in our community and in other communities where we have inspired people to set up their own youth cinemas. Some of our original volunteers have gone on to work in the film industry, or to study film-making or get other jobs using the skills they’ve gained on the project. The publicity from the award has helped us to recruit many more much-needed young volunteers. We’ve continued our work with the community and have started to hire out the cinema space to other organisations that need
the screen, for example, groups that want to do presentations or a new parents’ group that can watch films with their babies. We are doing screenings of GCSE texts which the headteachers of local schools are supportive of – they put postcards up and hand out flyers to students and allow us to go into the schools to speak about the cinema. We had our first birthday in August and held a big event to celebrate with a free screening, barbecue and face painting. E picture–box@in–spire.org.uk
Based: Flint, North Wales
A youth-initiated, youth-run group supporting the needs of young people in the community, those from other churches and young people from Bulgaria. The work includes a youth club in Flint (‘Venue’) where 8–14 year olds can relax, use the facilities and take part in workshops. Winning the Award in 2006 made us much more motivated and determined to go on and plan bigger projects. One of these was Castle Mission last summer which was a four-day event involving and supported by the whole community. We had a cinema bus and a family fun day; Venue was open every day and there was a daily youth service too. A few of the young people got Flintshire volunteer awards for their work in planning, organising and fundraising for the event. It attracted a lot more young people to Venue; almost 50 in one night. We’re planning another big event in October which will include putting on a music concert. And we have a friendly football match planned between the young people and local police officers; it’s going to be played in the heart of the community right in front of the castle.
Flava are best known for reaching the semifinals of ITV’s ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ in 2008. This has gained them national recognition and, more importantly, more opportunities to do what they love - to dance and work with children and young adults. Read on to find out more about this inspirational dance troop…
Who are Flava?
Flava, unique in more ways than one
When Kyle Richardson was 14, he brought together a group of six other young dancers. Through their love of music and street dance the teenagers had a shared focus and were able to express themselves during their crucial years of growing up. Now, four years later, a group of six trained dancers and teachers are strong role models who want to be able to inspire other young people through their passion for dance.
Alongside performing at high profile events such as Stella McCartney’s fashion show and the graduation ceremony for Jamie Oliver’s recruits at the Eden Project, they also attend and support many charity events throughout the UK. Two of these are very close to Flava’s hearts: the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a charity which supports and offers guidance to reduce people’s fear of crime, and The Philip Lawrence Awards. For details about Flava’s performance at the 2008 Philip Lawrence Awards ceremony, visit www.philiplawrenceawards.org.uk.
With the help and guidance of Kyle’s mother Fiona Richardson, Flava were a success in their own right before ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, not only winning numerous competitions and touring schools but also representing England at the World Hip Hop Championships and the UK at the Dance Excellence Awards in Los Angeles. “We want kids to look to us as positive role models,” explains Kyle, now 19. “We are looking to tour schools in the UK not just to promote Flava but to show the kids that if you put your mind to something you can achieve so much. We work hard but it’s a lot of fun and we really enjoy what we do. Hopefully we’ll inspire other kids to want to do the same.”
“Dance has helped get me through some really tough times and on a personal level I don’t know where my life might have gone if I didn’t have dance as a focus. We just want to give other people the same opportunity to find happiness through dance.” Becky Gowers, Flava dancer
Flava want to inspire children and young people of all ages to have an interest and live their dreams. So, is Flava’s dream of spreading their positive message through dance to others one step closer to reality? “Kyle started up the group four years ago just wanting to do something with the lads and have a mess around. I saw a real potential in them and they started taking it more seriously,” explains Kyle’s mother Fiona. “We invited some girls in and after entering some local competitions with really good results, it all took off from there.” “For Flava dancing means everything” enthuses Kyle. “Dance has boosted our confidence and it helps us to make friends. We love it.” The group wanted to share their achievements with the youth of Cornwall. “As well as competing at dance competitions, we do a lot of work with kids, going into schools and giving demonstrations. We want them to look up to us, be positive role models and hopefully give them the opportunities we’ve had. But what we do in Cornwall is not enough, we put 110% into this team and we want to make it go further.” In 2008, the nation suddenly became aware of Flava through the televised talent show ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. The group were successful in reaching the semi-finals and impressed the celebrity judging panel throughout. Actress Amanda Holden declared them: “The best we’ve seen”. And Simon Cowell reflected: “You have done one thing incredible, you’ve just made hoodies acceptable.
Simon Cowell, Producer and ITV’s ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ judge
“I love that you have done it yourself, you are raw talent and you are as good as what I’ve seen in America. There a lot of people getting a hard time in this country at the moment, particularly young people and I just think you are an incredible representation of the good that is out there.” Following the competition, Flava were approached by the police to work with them as a representation of good role models within the current ‘hoodie’ culture. This has led to the development of their workshop‘B Inspired’ which is currently touring schools and building confidence in children all across the United Kingdom.
‘B Inspired’ is designed to encourage children and young adults to find a focus during those crucial years of growing up. They hope to achieve this by showing them how dancing has inspired them and that if you put your mind to something you can achieve anything. The tag line for the workshops is: SEE - HEAR LEARN - FLAVA. You can See them perform, Hear their full story and Learn some of their new moves. Plus with the support of the police the workshops can be tailored to carry a positive message about avoiding youth anti-social behaviour such as knife crime, bullying or gangs.
This is conducted though a performance that can capture the children’s imaginations. Flava have already successfully worked with the police in Leeds, Blackburn, Sussex and ‘Cornwall & Devon’ and have plans to work with the Metropolitan Police in the coming new year. The future is bright for Flava. With a record deal in negotiations and the recording of their first track (yes, they can sing as well) plus their fitness video ‘Flava Fit’ hitting the shelves, expect 2009 to be absolutely stuffed full of Flava!
www.flavauk.com E Lydia@flavauk.com (Lydia Kimmerling)
winners
The winners of The Philip Lawrence Awar “This is the ds 12th year of The 2008 work to Philip Lawrence forge shared Awards. Year after year entrants understanding de monstrate and the positive respect betwee n contribution young people across generations and the country are making to enhanc e their ethnic groups, t o communities. I am delighted to have this opportunity to co have their voice ngratulate s all of this year ’s winn er s. It is a heard, to suppo ple as ur e to se e go od citizenship rt amongst young peop their peers in le being recognised and reward ed. achieving their “Like many of the or ganisations and potential, to bre individuals associated with ak The Philip La wr en ce Awards, down barriers I want to do more to promote the and create safe tremendous contribu tion that young r people make and the se winners are communities part of the really posit ive news.” Home Secretary, The for all. Rt. Hon Ja cqui Smith MP
Congratulations to all of the young people involved in the nine winning projects for 20 08 – we highlight your achieve ments in the following pages.
Who we are
Our mentoring programme supports young people in challenging stereotypes and negative behaviour, encouraging leadership and raising aspirations.
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“RECLAIM makes us aware of our daily life mistakes and helps youth stay true to their dreams. It unites many people from different areas.” Mohammed Ismail, RECLAIM mentee
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We have our say about issues that concern us and encourage social inclusion through events, discussion and creative media.
We voice issues through the use of sports, film, music and discuss ion Where we’re based e.g. our ‘Kick Islamaphobia’ football Islington, London tournament which involved two When we started local Mosques, Arsenal Footbal l August 2007 Club, Connexions and the police. We also run a schools arts project How we started and a Bangladeshi film project. A stee We formed our ring gro up of YMV members and key group to support decision makers select and lead young Muslims – on the pro jects. Some of us are being train many were feeling ed to become participation/youth excluded from workers. Future plans leadership roles Our training programme will in the community continue, and we are aiming to and that their engage young Muslim girls thro voices weren’t ugh a tailored project. A police – you being heard about ng people project will enable man issues important y issue-based discussions and we to them and to will be consulting with young people society as a whole. from Somali communities. We come from a range of Muslim “We want to break the negative and non-Muslim stereotypes of young people and make backgrounds positive changes. YMV has given me the and some of us opportunity to speak ou t against the have been in issues affecting me and give something poverty, socially back to my communit y.” excluded or similar Sami Adam, You ng Leader, YMV circumstances.
We produce a wide range of information for young people on all areas of young people’s health, to reduce stigma and increase uptake of health services. Who we are 40 young people Where we’re based Huyton, Central Knowsley When we started September 2001
How we started We started as a focus group of Knowsley’s YAS (Youth Advice Shop) sexual health service. We worked on a project looking at young people’s sexual health services in other local authorities and linking up with peers in Dublin and the Netherlands. From this we realised, Knowsley needed an attitude change towards young people’s health and YAS needed a name and brand change – to THinK.
Our work We expanded THinK to cover all preventative areas of young people’s health such as substance and alcohol misuse, as well as promoting emotional health. We produced various promotional materials. Working with neighbourhood wardens, youth workers and sports development officers, we aim to reach all young people. We have quarterly meetings and each new young person who attends brings new aims and new challenges.
Future plans Our supporters now include a committed steering group and is championed by the Children and Family Services. We hope to develop a one stop shop for young people’s health and education needs to help address young people’s health inequalities.
“Working with THinK has given me a huge boost of confidence, I now believe that what I have to say matters and can really make a difference. It has given me a clear goal in life.” Charlotte Connolly, THinK member
Who we are 22 young people Where we’re based Dudley When we started September 2007
How we started
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Following the to support We wanted to be able success of our en and young other looked after childr DVD we are in the ar message to cle a d sen d an le, op pe cess of getting ren’s Services. pro those who work in Child funding for our that we We came up with ideas next project ering group we discussed with the ste about domestic to make are part of. We decided violence. We also ues relevant to a DVD highlighting iss want to tackle ldren such as looked after and birth chi other issues that ficulties dif al on oti em st, tru , bullying affect looked fostering. and misconceptions of after children and young people. Our work ble ena to ing fund Six of us sourced “At my school lved in other young people to get invo the film has been ops the project. In our weekly worksh shown as part ed, we planned, researched, produc of a project. ed scripted, acted, filmed and edit For the first time the entire DVD – the fictional, but in my school life, young potentially real, stories of four appropriate and people. We formed our own TV DVD positive questions production company and use the were raised about ’s to encourage action from Children young people s Service in care.” rove imp to Member of Chatback the lives of Productions looked after children.
We work to provide a space for young people in the area to meet and make theatre about the world that they live in. Who we are 10 young people aged 11-20 Where we’re based Glasgow, Scotland When we started April 2007
How we started Our project grew out of some drama workshops that were really popular, bringing together asylum seekers and refugees with young people from the local area. We wanted to come together and talk, to show each other and the rest of the community what we were thinking and how we felt. So we made a play called ‘The Circle of the Asylum Seeker’ which was really successful.
Our work
Future plans We plan to tour more community venues and are working on a new piece of theatre. We will apply again for the National Theatre of Scotland Exchange, in which we were selected as the most popular play last year.
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We meet every week, making theatre and showing it to as many people as possible. We make decisions through group discussion and democratic. We’ve tackled dawn raids, racism, alcoholism, divorce, bullying, teenage suicide and have performed at Refugee Week and the National Theatre of Scotland Exchange festival. We are trained by our drama worker and supported by our schools.
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A vehicle for recognition I am always impressed by the number of young people who make really positive contributions to their communities – informally, and in more structured ways through volunteering. We must recognise these contributions and The Philip Lawrence Awards are an excellent vehicle for this recognition. All of the winning groups exemplify the importance of young people themselves leading and shaping the way in which we improve communities. From the YOBS (Youth for Old Bike Scheme) project which turns this negative term on its head by delivering fresh food to older people using bikes and trailers, to the Value Life group which seeks to unite the community around an anti-violence message. The impact of each of these young people’s projects goes far beyond simply the people they work with. The message we can take is that young people can and do want to make their communities a better place – and in this, they are an inspiration to us all.
Ian Brady, Deputy Director of the Youth Taskforce, Department for Children, Schools and Families. Ian was on the panel of judges for this year’s Philip Lawrence Awards.
Preparing the Awards shortlist for the finalist Judging Panel – members of the Sifting Panel work through all nominations at the Home Office, London.
Unlocking potential The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is just over a year old. Now is a good time to reflect on our aim to make this the best place in the world for our children and young people to grow up. We have heard that although parents and young people recognise the many opportunities available, they are concerned to ensure that all young people feel included and valued and to see that we tackle difficult issues like violence, drugs and alcohol. They also want more to be done to build bridges between generations and to support young people with disabilities. The DCSF Children’s Plan aims to make sure that all children and young people are able to unlock their talents and overcome setbacks. The Youth Taskforce has a particular role to work with local authorities and others to help those young people facing the greatest challenge, and to offer more places for all young people to go – including on Friday and Saturday nights. We look forward to a second year of progress and innovation. Earlier this year, the Youth Taskforce asked 1,000 young people, aged 16–19, to tell us about the way adults perceived them. Almost six out of ten thought that older generations felt negatively about young people. 70% thought that young people were portrayed negatively in the news, and four out of five felt this media slant had a negative impact on how young people were seen by adults in general. But we also found that young people are keen to find ways to challenge and change this perception. As well as ‘more places to go and things to do’, they identified ‘more coverage of all the positive things that young people do’ as key ways to challenge perceptions. The Philip Lawrence Awards, in recognising the fantastic work led by young people up and down the country and the contribution they make to their communities, is also takingup the challenge. To find out more please visit www.dcsf.gov.uk
The positive contributions that young people can make to their communities are many and varied, as this year’s winners of The Philip Lawrence Awards demonstrate. Each year the Awards provide national recognition for a range of inspiring projects led and delivered by young people, helping them feel confident and proud of the difference they can make. The changes these young people make can have a ripple effect, reinvigorating local areas, breaking down barriers between the generations, and highlighting common threads among different cultural and ethnic groups. The Philip Lawrence Awards are incredibly important because they recognise the outstanding efforts of so many young people in supporting their peers to overcome difficulties and to reach their full potential. We are delighted to play our part in making the Awards happen.
Anne Longfield OBE, Chief Executive, 4Children
The Philip Lawrence Awards work on many levels. They celebrate the outstanding achievements of young people in their communities and empower them to strive even higher. The young people are also heavily involved in the running and direction of the Awards, and this engenders strong friendships and support networks.
Each year a diverse mix of past winners are invited back to help lead the nomination shortlist selection and judging processes, reflecting the scheme’s ideals of putting young people at the heart of the process. This has the added positive effects of boosting their skills and confidence as well as enabling them to be mentors for one another. The young people can mix and share ideas, problems and their different experiences, points of view and emotions.
Winners reunited It has become tradition for past winners to get together the day before the Awards ceremony for a reunion day. Due to kind sponsorship from NASUWT (The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers) it has become possible for The Philip Lawrence Awards to run a residential weekend for this year’s reunion event. This will be an opportunity for catching up with friends, making new ones and forging connections for current and potential projects.
The sifting process
Choosing the winners
At the Home Office in London, eight past winners spent the day together to review each nomination submitted for the 2008 Awards. Led by 2003 PLA winners Jennifer Black and Donna Wilson from Scotland’s Castlehead Paired Reading Club, the team were also joined by Frances Lawrence and the Rt. Hon Jacqui Smith MP, Home Secretary to support them with their important task. Following a thorough review, detailed and lengthy discussion, the team were successful in deciding upon a shortlist of 24 nominations.
And so to the final challenging task – choosing the winners of The Philip Lawrence Awards 2008. Members of the final judging panel chaired by Sir Trevor McDonald OBE spent many hours discussing and debating the shortlisted nominations. This year they chose nine winning groups. Meet this year’s winners – turn to page 10.
The reunion weekend will be an interactive event with hands-on sessions giving past winners the opportunity to learn new skills and to become ambassadors for the Awards. Find out more at www.philiplawrenceawards.org.uk!
Ongoing benefits
Creative energy
The inspiration and motivation present in each of these activities are felt by and apparent to all. The highlight of a year of tremendous achievement is the Awards ceremony. For many, receiving their Award is the beginning of a great journey. As the young people demonstrate, the benefits of The Philip Lawrence Awards carry over into so many other aspects of their lives.
These pages you are now reading, the invitation you were sent and the Awards Ceremony performance have all been designed, developed and delivered by young minds working together to achieve a common goal, celebrating the citizenship achievements of young people. This year, Kingston University Graphic Design and Photography students took part in The Philip Lawrence Awards design competition. The winning team have created this stunning concept. Over the past few months the four winning students - Sarah Burnett, Sarah Brenkley, Laura Bowman and Eleanor Goodwin - have worked on creating the range of materials displayed and presented at the Awards ceremony, including this magazine.
“The design concept was based around an article the team read in the 2005 magazine,” explains Eleanor, “The article was entitled ‘Transforming Lives: Unite to Build a Brighter Future’ and was written by Frances Lawrence. The piece influenced the team to take up the idea of transformation for their concept. If you look closely at the magazine you can see many different aspects of this idea. The hand-rendered to digital type, the colour schemes, the hand-drawn to photographic images, even small details such as the page numbers change throughout the magazine.”
To find out more about this year’s Awards Ceremony please visit www.philiplawrenceawards.org.uk
In 2005, the Philip Lawrence Awards recognised a support group of young asylum seekers, refugees and British people challenging prejudice. The group is called Dreamers. The support gained through their Award has been helping to sustain the work of these young people based in Loughborough and benefiting many others.
Dreamers brings together young people from Britain, Iraq, Bangladesh, Somali, Albania, Kosovo and Afghanistan to support each other by sharing their experiences and problems. This helps to counter isolation, racism and lack of understanding in the community. Members meet each week to foster respect, have their say, and provide and get advice on the issues that affect them. The project also visits schools and
For a free copy of Hidden Voices or to find out more about the project: E alake@leics.gov.uk
Since winning our Award 19 year old Ali Mohamadi, a member of Dreamers: Today, the project supports 120 young people – that’s 35 more people since 2005 when we won our Philip Lawrence Award and we’re growing more and more. Some of us wrote to Gordon Brown about the conflict in Afghanistan and he invited us to Whitehall to talk to his policy advisors. We were worried about speaking out to begin with but when they said our views would be confidential we talked about all the things we were worried about. For example, we asked them if
community events and published Hidden Voices, an illustrated book based on the diaries of Andrew Lake (who started Dreamers) and the conversations of young asylum seekers and refugees.
Afghan young people in Britain would be allowed to vote in the Afghanistan elections, and if they could remove the Russian bombs which kill more people than the conflict itself. We were so pleased with the meeting that we celebrated with Afghan dancing on the London Eye! The Award did help to give us credibility and the other thing that’s happened is that we’ve been talking to housing charities about developing new services and support for young asylum
seekers. We now have five houses for three to four young people to live with a support worker. This creates a family unit to help the young people establish themselves, and learn the basics of living in the UK. Andy Reed MP is still in touch with the group and held a workshop recently with 90 young people in the youth centre to hear our views and thoughts. We also got an outstanding grade from Ofsted in our last inspection.
Since Let’s Be Positive won a Philip Lawrence Award in 2006, they have gone on to produce more positive music albums and develop a music, comedy and spoken word launch event which brought youth groups across North London together.
Since winning our Award Pearl Amoateng, 19, committee member of Let’s Be Positive: I’ve been involved with Let’s Be Positive (LBP) and the Summer Music Album Project since I was 14. LBP creates music with positive messages and we give away copies of our albums freely to help uplift people.
We were struggling to fund the Summer Music Album Project and make the next album, so winning the Award was brilliant for us – it meant funders took notice of us. We were really pleased and happy that we could continue with the project and there were a lot of new members that performed on the fourth album; the quality of the music stepped up too and we were able to attract more well-known people to support us. The Award also helped us to generate lots more publicity! For example, we were interviewed by ITV about the problems with young people in the area using knives and the image of “hoodies”.
Let’s Be Positive’s “Unite” launch event this summer broke down postcode barriers.
For more information, please contact Yemi Akinfenwa: T 020 8489 8841 E Yemi.Akinfenwa@haringey.gov.uk
The influence we were having made us think of taking our music work further and developed a project called “Unites”. The launch event this summer, supported by David Lammy MP, brought together young people from across Tottenham and Haringey breaking down postcode barriers and, we hope, made a small step towards combating knife crime in the area. The event debated how to get past the stereotypes of young people. With Metropolitan Police funding we also made a documentary about the making of the Unites album featuring Kwame Kwie Amar.
We want to develop Unites into a positive movement going to different youth groups in other areas and asking if they want to sign up to our positive ethos. When people get to know each other from different postcodes, they’ll feel less threatened, and are hopefully less likely to attack others. We’ve got lots of names in support of this idea, so we’ll continue with that and hopefully continue to make lots of albums. I’ve always been interested in music and as well as being an LBP committee member, I’m involved with some of the production for the albums, writing and performing with my two sisters in our group NS3. It’s been fantastic to have LBP as a platform to make music and work with professionals, and for something positive to do during the summer. Tackling issues such as knife and gun crime and the war in Iraq as part of LBP has made me interested in the government and how it all works, and I’m now in my second year of university in Leicester studying politics. I still come back to perform and support LBP as much as I can; it’s amazing to be part of something that makes such a difference to the community.
The secret of success behind The Philip Lawrence Awards and each year’s prestigious Awards Ceremony is the energy and enthusiasm of countless unseen people. All the work and commitment of the volunteers, young people and partner organisations is greatly appreciated.
4Children, the national children’s charity, has been responsible for the management of the Awards, thanks to Anne Longfield, Geethika Jayatilaka, Cheryl Aughton and Hannah Cooke. 4Children has worked hard extending the reach of the Awards scheme, encouraging and supporting the efforts of young people to actively participate in their communities. This would have not been possible without the advice and encouragement of the team of experts. Special thanks to the Awards’ founder Frances Lawrence, Rosemary Morle, Tasha Judd and Matthew Mitchell at the Home Office, Godfrey Allen, Jonathan Hopkins and Janet Lasky. The Philip Lawrence Awards would be nothing without the winning groups. In celebrating their achievements, we also give thanks to all those who have encouraged and supported them in their endeavours – from parents, guardians and friends to youth workers, local authorities, schools and police officers. Heartfelt thanks go to the ‘friends’ of the Philip Lawrence Awards and other organisations whose generous financial contributions have enabled us to achieve such a high standard of presentation. These include the Home Office and NASUWT (The National Association of Schoolmasters Union and Women Teachers). Thanks to the University College London (UCL) Widening Participation Department, UCL Bloomsbury Theatre and the continued support from Professor Worton. The Philip Lawrence Awards would like to thank this year’s Philip Lawrence Awards design competition winners: Laura Bowman, Sarah Brenkley, Sarah Burnett and Eleanor Goodwin, third year design students from Kingston University for their hard work and creative expertise. Also the mentoring and support from Eugenie Dodd and the Design Faculty at Kingston University.
The Sifting Panel Delivered by 2003 past winners Jennifer Black and Donna Wilson and assisted by: Daniel Elliott (2003) Janice Galbraith (2007) Leanne Humphrey (2007) Holly Bickle (2007) Ceri Staplin (2007) Lisa Lane (2006) With support from The Rt. Hon Jacqui Smith MP, Home Secretary.
The Judging Panel Chaired by: Sir Trevor McDonald OBE Assisted by: Godfrey Allen Apex Trust Ian Brady Department for Children, Schools & Families Jonathan Hopkins Citadel Communications Leanne Humphrey 2007 PLA winner Geethika Jayatilaka 4Children Tasha Judd Home Office Katharine Kent Frances Lawrence Ceri Staplin 2007 PLA winner Professor Michael Worton UCL
The Philip Lawrence Awards respect, recognise and reward the outstanding achievements in citizenship by young people aged 11-20. Funded by
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To pledge your support for The Philip Lawrence Awards in 2009 please contact 4Children T 020 7512 2100 E philiplawrenceawards@4Children.org.uk www.philiplawrenceawards.org.uk