Bulletin 27 August 2010

ITV Fixers – opportunity

ITV Fixers is a major media campaign supporting young people (aged 16 – 25) to take action on any issue they feel strongly about – raising awareness and changing things for the better. It is a charity funded project backed by ITV aimed at giving young people a voice in the media.

ITV Fixers:

Offer a positive image of young people when they are often given a negative one in the press. Fixers come from across the range of cultures and backgrounds. They include hard-to-reach young people including prostitutes, young offenders and the disabled. Since we started broadcasting, there are now 1200 Fixers and 140 projects. ITV Fixers gives them the resources to carry out their projects and get their voice heard, whether it is a website, an event, a pop video, a film etc. All projects have an end date. Sometimes the project ends with the Fix, sometimes the campaign grows into something bigger e.g. Sam Thomas is now a regular commentator on national radio on eating disorders, Evans Amankwah is hosting a major Peace Event with 400 people and guests including 2 MPs and the Mayor of Reading.

Some Fixers go on to win awards.  All Fixers projects are featured on our website www.itvfixers.com and some are selected for broadcast in the ITV regions once a month.

They have covered a wide variety of creative projects including one Fixer’s bid to rid her city of plastic bags, a campaign to save a town’s beach, a group’s bid to make pole exercise more acceptable, and a young woman’s website to help other young people who have experienced child abuse.

 Jacqueline from ITV Fixers is setting up meetings to give more information across Tyne Tees and the rest of the region in the following couple of weeks. Jacqueline is also available to give information/presentations to groups of young people.

If you are interested in meeting Jacqueline to discuss the above then contact her on jacqueline@itvfixers.com or 07855 212606

Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2010

If you’re aged 16-30 And have been running your own business for between 3-18 months, this is annual competition could see you walk away with  £10,000 cash injection plus local, regional and national PR from top London agency Blue Rubicon at the Shell Livewire live award  final taking place in London on 13th October 2010.

The judging process will see the entrants from across the UK shortlisted to a shell livewire ‘hot 40’ before 8 regional finalists go on  to face a panel of judges including Dragons’ Den start Duncan Banntyne, Tim Campbell (Bright ideas trust) and Emma Jones (Enterprise Nation). 1 of the 8 finalists will definitely be from either the North East Or North West so if you think you’ve got what it takes to be our shell livewire young entrepreneur of the Year 2010, find out more at:

www.shell-livewire.org/awards/ (deadline 5pm on 6th September 2010)

UK Youth’s Enterprise Challenge Programmer

As part of a 3 year project funded by the Garfield Weston Trust to support youth workers to develop enterprise skills with their young people in non-formal education, UK Youth have developed an Enterprise Challenges Programme. 

With the generous support of The Garfield Weston Foundation, UK Youth has recently launched its ‘Creating a Can Do Culture’ toolkit of enterprise learning activities to help workers develop young people’s entrepreneurial skills.

 The toolkit links to the Youth Achievement Awards programme and provides sample challenges and targets to help you recognise young people’s achievements in the area of enterprise. 

Rather than teaching young people how to set up their own microbusinesses this toolkit aims to support workers to develop a range of entrepreneurial skills that can be transferred to a variety of settings. Skills like problem solving, team work, knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, communication etc. are all covered in a fun and interesting way. To order a free copy of this toolkit for your project (limited to one copy per project) go http://www.ukyouth.org/whatwedo/Programmes/YAA/enterprise and download, complete in full and return the form to Charmaine Simpson. 

  * Subject to £3.60 postage and packaging.

Young People’s Rewards:

UK Youth have also produced a set of ‘rewards’ for young people who complete an enterprise challenge. These are brightly coloured silicon wristbands which reinforce the messages of the positive contribution that enterprise skills have on young people’s personal and social development. When you order the toolkit (see above) you will be sent a pack of 20 to distribute to your young people, but please let us know if you need more, or less and we will try to help.  DEADLINE APPROACHING FOR GRANT SCHEME!

Enterprise Challenge Grant Scheme:

Supported by Mazars, UK Youth is delighted to be able to offer UK Youth’s YAA registered groups the opportunity to develop and implement their enterprise ideas through the Enterprise Challenge Grant Scheme. This funding will enable groups to apply for up to £250 to progress the enterprise ideas they have explored through the toolkit.

 They will have 2 deadlines for applications:

• Friday 24th September 2010
• Friday 14th January 2011

 UK Youth expect to give out 46 grants to UK Youth YAA groups in total with 4 bursaries being used to develop non-formal enterprise projects in youth groups in Kenya. Projects will need to be based on the interests and ideas of young people, operate legally, and make a positive contribution to their community. They also encourage applications for creative and challenging enterprise projects.

 Successful projects will also need to be offering young people the opportunity to accredit their achievements through the Youth Challenges or Youth Achievement Award programme.

Successful projects will be offered support through an ‘e-mentoring programme’ with Mazar staff and support from UK Youth to develop their enterprise programme and accreditation.

 If you have any further questions relating to this programme, please do not hesitate to contact Charmaine Simpson, Education & Training Administrative Officer. 0203 137 3827 Mobile: 07702 958544 Email: yaa@ukyouth.org www.ukyouth.org or www.youthachievementawards.org