CHANGEit awards
Tuesday 3 June 2008
n2k met some innovative and inspiring young people at the CHANGEit awards. Watch the video.
What is it?
The CHANGEit awards was set up to recognise, support and reward young people who have taken steps to make positive changes in society.
Anyone between the ages of 11-18 who live in the UK, who have campaigned for something they believe in, or want to start a campaign, can apply in either the Innovation or Performance category.
This year projects have included a campaign to have a free-running training park, to a bedroom recording studio, to advice on how to be more environmentally conscious.
Innovation
n2k spoke to one of the 2008 winners Tara, 14, who just set up Smile with Style which gets schools and youth clubs together to design and sell T-shirts. Half of the profits made will be donated to cleft charity Smile Train and the other half invested back into local youth clubs.
She thinks her campaign can help cut crime in her area, “If we get lots of young people to go to Youth Clubs, the better it will be.”
See Tara’s designs at the Smile with Style blog.
Finalists Rooftop Gorillaz who want to campaign to have a free running training park in their local area already have a petition with 700 names in support of the park. “There’s plenty of support around our community for it but that little bit more of support would be appreciated and would really help towards the campaign.”
Meet the boys and find out more about free running in the Rooftop Gorillaz blog.
Performance
One of the 2008 winners was Matthew, 18, who set up Matts-Hideout.co.uk. The website was initially just a space for him to talk about dyspraxia - a neurological disorder which affects messages sent from the brain to the body. However, his website soon attracted the attention of other dyspraxia sufferers and ‘Matt’s Hideout’ soon became a forum for young people to chat online about the issues they might also be facing with dyspraxia.
Another young person who took action on an issue which mattered to him was Jack, 16, who set up the Green Footprint Group - a committee which works to help each school and the wider community become more environmentally conscious.
Jack wants to people to be greener: “People talk about their carbon footprint in a negative way so we’ve kind of turned that on its head and said it’s time people start to think about their green footprint.”
You can sign Jack’s petition to the Prime Minister to provide funds for schools to ‘get green’ and recycle here.
Going green couldn’t be easier – find out how to do it in five easy ways.
Get involved
Can you make a positive change in society? Nominations for the 2009 CHANGEit awards will start later on in the year.
You can download a nomination form at the CHANGEit website.
