Young People London

Get Up, Stand Up: Turning Young People into Leaders through Arts - 9.00 - 4.00 Friday 28th October 2011 @ Bernie Grant Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham N15 4RX.

Get Up, Stand Up is a positive response to the events of August's riots, which began in Tottenham. The reasons behind the riots are still the subject of heated debate, but the message is clear: young people are disillusioned. 26% of young people from deprived area have no or little hope of achieving their goals (Prince's Trust 2011), a growing number of young people are failing to vote, or engage with politics; and 1 in 3 young people are 'functionally illiterate' in some parts of London (Evening Standard, March 2011).

John Baraldi, Chief Executive of Bernie Grant Arts Centre, who are hosting the event said, "Unless we find a way of engaging young people with the world around them, there will indeed be a lost generation. Creativity is one of the keys to that engagement."

"The time has never been more important to give young people the skills they need to not only feel part of their communities but become leaders with real choices" Dr Nathalie Teitler, Organiser.

"We are really excited about showing what creativity can do for young people" Hiran, 17 Youth Media Agency

The conference will bring together a range of exciting and innovative models building bridges between the arts, politics, NGOs/charities and education. Arts organisations, funding bodies, research organisations as well as young activists and artists will all be present. The participants will share good practice; devise new projects to give young people a sense of identity at the heart of their communities, and allow them to become agents for positive change and will set up a Network of Artists for Change.

The conference will be introduced by John Baraldi, Chief Executive of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, which is at the heart of the Tottenham community and has already been central to the area's response to the riots. Mr Baraldi said: "Our 'Great Book of Tottenham' photography and oral history project has already given people a voice after the riots, and we are now running a film project aimed at encouraging community cohesion among local young people. We're proud and excited also to be hosting the Get Up Stand Up conference."

Workshops will be held by UK Youth; Paul Hamlyn Foundation; Music and Change; internationally award- winning theatre group the Red Room; and New Deal of the Mind.

The afternoon will feature workshops by English Pen, Index on Censorship, Malika Booker (RSC writer-in-residence), Catch 21 and the Youth Media Agency on topics like: How to set up a project around free speech, Using creative writing to empower young people and how to use social media and digital platforms.

Black British Music and young artist-in-residence at the Southbank, Yemisi Blake will give presentations about projects which have brought about measurable and positive change. The UK's finest poets Inua Ellams (Writer-in- Residence at Tate Modern) and Kayo Chingonyi (Salt Poetry, Best UK poets) will also be part of the day, which will be covered by Streetlife Radio - one of London's fastest growing community radio stations, offering a practical example of how digital platforms can build audience.

The day will end with the formation of a network of organisations and individuals working for youth arts and activism which will meet regularly and share good practice and learning. Papers from the day will be sent to the Department of Education.