Young People Head to Westminster for Final Sorrell Presentations

In the shadow of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in the heart of London's Westminster, representatives from the myplace projects that took part in the Sorrell Foundation's joinedupdesign for myplace programme recently gathered to celebrate the final outcomes of their projects.

Hosted by Radio One DJ Ras Kwame, young people from 12 out of the 15 affiliated projects attended the presentation at Central Hall, including those from Trafford, Hastings, Wakefield, Newcastle and Bath.

Upon entering the presentation hall there were displays by several of the projects, showcasing some of the designs. These were very impressive and included 3D models and computer generated images of what the centres will look like.

Each of the groups presented a video showing the design process of their logos, branding and architecture that was developed with the help of the Sorrell Foundation. The videos demonstrated how much work went into the designs, all of which looked professional and eye-catching.

Following each of the videos, the representatives from the projects went up on stage to receive certificates for all their hard work. Each of the young people were sporting t-shirts with their project's branding on and were all very enthusiastic and lively throughout the event.

The young people then stood up and gave a short speech about their project, detailing what has gone into producing their designs and what their myplace means to them and their community.

Jason, from the Southside project in Bath said: "For such a long time our youth centre was simply not standing out and now we have the chance to make it shine and give our community something to be proud of. We have something that will hopefully keep young people off the streets which is a great thing."

After the presentations dance group Vortex, who some of you may remember from Britain's Got Talent, wowed the crowds with their impressive street dance performance.

Next up on the stage was Dawn Primarolo, the Minister for Children, Young People and Families. She talked of how important it is to provide such facilities for young people and also to have them involved in the process.

She said: "It is the importance of empowering young people and finding out what they want. It is good for the local community and there is great potential for the future for all involved. I feel very privileged to have been a part of the fantastic things you are all doing."

The event drew to a close with all the projects having their photo taken with Ms Primarolo and a feeling that all the hard work had produced a really inspiring and worthwhile end product.

Why not get inspired - take a look at the presentation films just published on the foundations website.