Young Activist 2008

Young Activist supports young campaigners, aged 16-24, who are campaigning on a community focused issue with which they have a personal connection. This Award is targeted at young people supported by Foyers, YMCAs and similar organisations, who have limited experience of campaigning but who have the drive and passion to change something in their community

Sponsored by YMCA England and Foyer Federation

Winner

Toni Cowans

HIV/AIDS Awareness, Stoke-on-Trent

Toni is campaigning to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS through Stoke-on-Trent YMCA. Her key objectives are to challenge the misconceptions and discrimination associated with the illness, not only in her local area but nationwide. She hopes to educate young people about HIV by producing accessible information on the subject. Toni aims to influence MPs and increase public awareness through the media.

Finalists

Vicki Collin

Chester-le-Street

Vicki with the help of a group of young people began the Claim your Voice campaign to encourage young people to take a more active role in local politics. Claim your Voice aims to get more 18-25 year olds to use their right to vote and to increase interest in politics both locally and nationally. The campaign provides support for young people in public speaking and confidence building. They hope that the next step will be to build better relationships with MP's to increase the profile the campaign.

James Faulconbridge

Raising the Green Flag, Nottinghamshire

James is part of the Environmental Action Committee, a collective group of young people in Nottinghamshire promoting the Raising the Green Flag campaign. Their aim is to encourage all secondary schools in Nottinghamshire to sign up to the Eco-Schools commitment to encourage them to take steps to achieve Green Flag Status. The campaign believes that schools becoming more environmentally aware will have a stronger positive impact on the whole community. James is passionate about raising the profile of the committee to encourage more young people to get involved.

Helen Kiely

Irish Travellers Campaign, Chingford

Helen is campaigning to improve public opinion of the Irish Traveller community in East London. After personal experiences of prejudice against her background Helen decided to take action and openly talk about the issues that her community faces in the hope of changing perception. She has produced two DVD's on the subject and has spoken at conferences and workshops. Her main objectives are to raise the public profile of issues faced by the Irish Travellers community and to build connections with other campaigners working on similar issues.