BAFTA and Media Trust Youth Mentoring Programme
17 March 11
Find out how BAFTA members are inspiring and educating young people as part of the BAFTA and Media Trust Youth Mentoring Programme.
About BAFTA Youth Mentoring
BAFTA brings together the best talent from across the film and television industries. As an Academy, we aim to share this wealth of expertise to inspire and educate others.
We initially partnered with Media Trust to pilot a Youth Mentoring Programme for young people in London. BAFTA members were asked to share their skills and expert knowledge with young people working on a variety of media projects.
In April 2010 the programme expanded into other cities across England, including Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Leeds, and Nottingham. With the support of the RBS group and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, 61 BAFTA members have volunteered their time to offer skill-based support to almost 300 young people from over 20 youth organisations across England. The scheme has now also expanded to Glasgow.
Young people involved in the programme have identified both personal and careers-based positive outcomes. They include increased confidence, new transferable and media-related skills, and a new willingness to engage in media-related training and education. BAFTA mentor Damian Jones, working with Fairbridge Kennington, observed:
I've rarely seen young people so eager to learn - it was refreshing to be part of.
About the 2011 England Showcase
On 17 March 2011 we held a showcase event at BAFTA headquarters to celebrate the achievements and work of the young people who took part in the 2010 Mentoring Programme in England.
Anne Morrison, Chair of BAFTA's Learning and Events Committee, Caroline Diehl, Chief Executive of the Media Trust, and Tim Hunter, Head of BAFTA's Learning and Events, introduced the event to a packed audience that included the BAFTA mentors and representatives from the 24 youth organisations.
The support and guidance provided by my mentor Carl Schoenfeld was a million miles excellent and I am very grateful. God bless you all.
- Young person working with Black History Month mentors
The completed projects were screened at BAFTA and many of the young people were present to provide introductions and share their experiences of working with their mentors. Among the screened projects were Pro-ThinC Theatre's Bare Truths Project, Clapton Girls' Technology College's M'aimes, and Knowle West Media Centre's Counter Punch.
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James Wall
(25-45-2012)
"thought id go back in time. i took part in this very scheme and that young chap speaking in a mic is me. when i took part in this amazing oppertunity, the experiance gained shocked me completly, learning how to write a successful script, casting and the pre production itself was amazing. with the oppertunity you gave me at the Knowle west media centre i have managed to get a apprenticeship in the BBC in bristol working on NHU productions such as Andy's Wild Adventures and Planet Earth live where i was the production runner. i thought id say a huge thank you to the amazing mentors who took the time to teach young film makes and gave us a head start in the industry. high regards James W PS i am still presenting like the photo above and recently presented in front of prince Edward. "