Owners
What it's all about
The impact of this project will aim to raise awareness of the increasing violence occurring on our London streets, with young people at the heart of the debate. Statistics have shown many young people fall victim to knife and gun attacks. By raising awareness it will provoke the community to react to this important issue as our next generation may not exist to be our next doctors, firemen, nurses, teachers, engineers etc. The overall impact is to influence positive social change for the present and the future of our society.
What inspired me to do this was constantly watching the news and hearing the same old bad news. The last straw was when I read a newspaper article suggesting that gang members can be as young as 5 years old. Although I found this very hard to believe it was not far from the truth. Kids as young as 10 and 11 can be associated to gangs and anti-social groups.
In addition to this on the 7th April 07, BBC reported the fatal stabbing of 14 year old male “Paul Erhahon” who was stabbed repeatedly in the stomach and chest by a large number of youths in Leyton, East London. The reason for the stabbing was because he was too big for his age! A pathetic excuse to die! It is an important issue to be tackled as the average person innocent of what is going on can be caught up in this gang culture, through being in the wrong place at the wrong time! Last year an innocent pregnant woman was caught up in the cross fire of a shoot out which resulted in her losing her life and her unborn baby. A sign that our society must change and fast!
What's needed to make it a reality
I have already applied for a small grant which will enable me to get the materials I need to to transfer the final edited version of the documentary to then be distributed to schools and colleges in the East London area. I have built up a good network of proffessionals in charitable sector dealing with young people from deprived inner cities. I plan to approach organisations such as "Tolerance in Diversity", "Summer Eductaion UK", and "Rewind Magazine" to help assist me in interviewing participants from young people to high profile figures. In addition to this I plan to make the documentary available online for the general public to download. This will be promoted via leaflets distributed at key outlets around london including schools, colleges and youth clubs.
Comments
Because you are a student at UEL you can access up to £750 to turn your idea into a reality. UEL is one of 15 Universities who are taking part in the scheme where you can access funding, training and support from your Junction49 staff member (Joey) to help you get your project up and running. She'll be in touch with you to start helping you develop your project.
Why not check out the news item Gangs and Panic and give your opinion...
Also, have a look at the project called Rise Above - started by a student at the University of Central Lancashire it aims to use breakdancing to tackle these tough issues... Report Abuse
Recently a project was added to the website called iConnect which wants to raise awareness amongst the youth community about gang culture - you can check their idea out here:
http://www.junction49.co.uk/idea/1888/iconnect/
If you've got any hints or tips for them in developing their idea, I'm sure they'd really like to hear from you.
Sarah Report Abuse
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