Monthly Archives: November 2009

One of Liverpool Lighthouse’s youth volunteers has proved herself to be a future leader as she attended the International Leadership Conference in Prague last month. Natalie Green (16) who volunteers at Liverpool Lighthouse’s youth café attended the conference with a group from North Liverpool Academy and Breckfield and North Everton Neighbourhood Council (BNENC).

The young people secured the funding by convincing a dragon’s den style panel (Youth Opportunity Fund) that their voice should be heard in Europe. During the trip they visited a local school where they met with students from the UK and Prague to discuss what is happening in their community. They also joined a World Cafe Event where they spoke as equals with adults from around the world.

The students’ were chosen for the trip because of their community work as volunteers or with the Future Search project, where NLA school works in partnership with community groups to tackle local issues. This has given them a great insight into how the community operates and gives them the skills to become future leaders. The students received high praise from everyone they met including the President of the International Leadership Association who said the students are an inspiration. Chelsea Doran addressed an audience of 650 people made up from delegates from around the world and called on young people to be given an equal voice in decision making.

Liverpool Lighthouse’s Youth Connect Programme leader Matthew Moreton says “Natalie is always an incredibly enthusiastic volunteer who is great with the young people who attend our café. I think she has great potential to become an important voice for this country in years to come.”

Next year the conference is to be held in Boston and already the students are planning to seek funding to attend to allow them to spread their ideas beyond Europe to International students’.

Liverpool Lighthouse Harmonize student, Vadane Robson is preparing to face Simon Cowell in February after successfully getting through the first round of auditions of Britain’s Got Talent this week.

Fifteen year old Vadane who hails from Anfield, attended the Renaissance Hotel in Manchester last Monday where he performed labi Siffre’s ‘Something Inside So Strong’ to a small panel. The successful audition has earned him a place in the next round of the competition to be held in London on 10th February. Vadance will perform in front of the critical live audience and the infamous judges.
The year 11 Harmonize student is no stranger to performing. Hi CV includes Harmonize productions at Liverpool Lighthouse and regularly flexing his vocal chords singing original songs with local group Home Grown Music. But Vadane’s talents don’t end there – he also plays guitar, piano, drums and trumpet, he raps, beat-box’s, and can turn his hand to songwriting. But will Vadane’s multiple talents be enough to keep him from being buzzed out by BGT judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan? Vadane says “I want to be the first scouser to win Britain’s Got Talent’. Simon doesn’t seem to like scousers so I’m looking forward to his reaction when he hears me sing. I want to be successful in the music industry because I love performing. I’d say I’m about 2% nervous about the next round in London and I hope that I get through so that I can show off more of my talents in each round.”
Britain’s Got Talent Series 4 is due to be aired next spring and Vadane is hoping that he is in with a chance of singing for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance as well as bagging himself £100,000 winners prize money.

Six students on the Harmonize programme at Liverpool Lighthouse will be putting on their glad rags next Saturday as they attend their own film premiere in London. The group is heading for South Bank’s glitzy British Film Institute where their work will be among a selection of short films, created by young people across the country, to be shown to an audience of Politicians and celebrities.

Film company Truetube worked with the Harmonize group in Liverpool back in October. They gave the students the opportunity to write, direct, act and edit their own short film. It has been available for public viewing on Truetube’s website and will now be watched by an audience of over 500 people including former Eastenders soap actress Brooke Kinsella and high profile QC Michael Mansfield. Mansfield has worked on behalf of clients including Stephen Lawrence and Jean-Charles de Menezes families, Mohammed Al-Fayed and the Guildford 4. Brooke Kinsella who played Kelly Taylor in the BBC soap is a keen campaigner against knife crime after her 16 year old brother was stabbed to death in London. The students will have an opportunity to put questions to a panel of guests including Labour MP Kerry McCarthy and Conservative MP Tim Loughton

The Harmonize group decided to base their film on the consequences of under age drinking. The 3 minute film entitled ‘Drunken, Disorderly and Unprotected’ features the acting work of student Vadane Robson who says “I’m really excited about the premiere. I enjoyed the filmmaking process and it gave me my first experience of performing to camera as well as actually filming.”

Harmonize’ film can be found at http://www.truetube.co.uk/media.php?do=detail&mediaid=1421

Staff at Liverpool Lighthouse have been helping to shape a Manchester community development project by sharing their expertise. Visitors from Levenshulme Inspire Project met with senior managers at Anfield’s Urban Gospel Arts Centre to learn from the established community charity.

The Manchester project that shares similarities with Liverpool Lighthouse plans to open its new centre in September 2010. In the same way that LLH are set in the regeneration area of Anfield, the new project is located in the heart of deprived area of Levenshulme, Manchester. It will aim to engage the community in danger of exclusion and provide facilities such as a café, housing programme and learning opportunities. The new project grew out of the United Reformed Church whose members realised that in order to survive they would have to re-focus and join forces with social network enterprises. With the aid of funding and partner organisations such as HARP and Bubble Enterprise Creations, Ed Cox and his small congregation are hoping to achieve their shared vision for the community centre.

The visit to Liverpool Lighthouse last week included a presentation about the history of the Liverpool charity along with a tour of the building and its facilities. Ed Cox says “I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen and especially by the way Liverpool Lighthouse integrates its Church life with the life of its community projects. That’s what we are aiming to do in Manchester and it’s good to see it working in practice.” Sue Dixon from Bubble Enterprise Creation says “We have come away with inspiration and food for thought and look forward to sharing it with the others on our steering group. Liverpool Lighthouse have shown us how much can be achieved and how vision can be realised. I was particularly moved by the Harmonize project and the progress young people can make when they feel they belong. I hope we will have as much success in building our Inspire community.”