Screen WM are pleased to announce that the winner of the Social Digital Responsibility Award at the Black International Film Festival Awards 2009 was The Voice run by Lift Community Trust.
Regional screen agency Screen WM are pleased to announce the winner of The Social Digital Responsibility Award 2009 at the Black International Film Festival awards 2009 was awarded to community project ‘The Voice’ run by the Lift Community Trust.
The Social Digital Responsibility award was created by Screen West Midlands to recognise the work of individuals or organisations who have contributed to the region’s social diverse communities through digital platforms or mediums providing education, information or inclusion. The nominees were selected by a panel at Screen WM in relation to work they have done over the last year.
The shortlisted nominees included Talk About Local, Participation and The Voice all projects that have been supported through funding from Screen WM.
Talk About Local is a project set up to give people in their communities a powerful online voice. The project helps people communicate and campaign more effectively to influence events in the places in which they live, work or play. Founded by William Perrin and supported by a talented West Midlands-based team, Talk About Local is all about working in /with communities to give people the skills they need to use simple publishing tools such as popular free blog platforms. Talk About Local also networks together community campaigners across the country to help people get things done more effectively.
The Participation project is supported through Screen WM's Digital Film Archive Fund and run by VIVID. The project screened moving image archive content which focussed on the rise of Thatcherism and the social and cultural events of the period from 1979. Deliverables included public screenings from the Black Audio Film Collective and Amber Films as well as workshops and the production of a DVD programme which is touring 30 schools and 40 film clubs.
The winning project The Voice, delivered a media education and skills training project for disadvantaged young people living in Quinton-Birmingham. The project took place on a housing estate called Welsh House Farm where many of the families are asylum seekers and 24% of the children at the local school have English as their second language.
Ray Johnson who sits on the Screen WM Board presented the award to the project coordinator and youth worker Simon Jay. Simon and fellow residents are transforming the Welsh House Farm estate into a great place to live by reviving community spirit; encouraging residents to help each other through structured volunteering activity, and by increasing the team sports opportunities for young people.
In response to winning the award, Project Coordinator and Youth Worker Simon Jay from the Lift Community Trust said: It’s great to see so many young black people doing so well, however we must not forget the overwhelming number of young black people in our deprived communities who feel disempowered and let down by the system. It’s not enough for us to rest on our laurels as we see success in a few lives, but rather believe ‘we all get there or none of us do’.
Dr Samir Shah OBE, Chair Screen West Midlands Board said: “Screen WM are delighted to sponsor The Social Digital Responsibility award at the Black International Film Festival and pleased to be supporting the fantastic work that all three of these projects are doing in the community. Congratulations to The Lift Community Trust for their winning project The Voice. Screen WM will support the continued work across the West Midlands to encourage engagement with film and media through education, information and inclusion and this project supports our ongoing strategy to engage and work closer with diverse communities across our region.”