Organised by Waterloo-based youth action group SE1 United and Peabody, the Youth Oskars 2011 was a three-hour showcase of performance, comedy, music, and - most importantly - recognition of young people's positive contributions and achievements in London communities.
The programme featured a range of young performers on the stage at the prestigious Royal Festival Hall: singing, breakdancing, beatboxing, tapdancing, rapping, robotdancing, and much more!
There was a fashion show from Threads, Peabody's fashion project for female 10-18 year-olds.
The Oskars were given out between each set and we caught up with one winner, Yoje, who told us:
"It was good, it's an opportunity for young people to get recognised and it makes people feel good about themselves."
SE1 United chair Sarah Cretch said:
"I'm very proud of SE1 United's achievements. Tonight is not just about one night, it's about 10 years' work helping young people become adults; sharing and celebrating the positive things in life."
We spoke to Moses and Nic, two of the older members who work with the younger members, about SE1 United's journey.
"We were initially approached by Natalie Bell [SE1 Project Director] and with the help of a grant, we were able to set up the project.
"Our focus is on providing activities - we do Health & Safety training, First Aid, Food Hygiene courses - all things useful for getting employment.
"We have a homework club, where the older kids help the younger ones. "We attract young people by doing events, where they then sign up and then attend SE1 United. We are guided by our Youth Forum committee who meet and vote on ideas. We went to Holland for a long weekend; accommodation and travel agendas were all decided by the young people who attend SE1 United."
SE1 United play a vital role in local community relations, offering consultancy services to organisations, including the police, who had a stall at the event.
"The police ask us how to engage with young people. We organised a football tournament and the police had a team. The police lost!"
Youth Oskars 2011 is part of Peabody's Our Say Our Way project for young people aged 12-19, funded by the Big Lottery Fund.
Our Say Our Way project Co-ordinator Richard Griffith said:
"The theme of Youth Oskars was ‘unite through success’. We want to challenge the destructive ‘feral youth’ stereotype and prove that young people can be creative educators, organisers, collaborators and change agents, and that they can cross postcodes to celebrate each other achievements."
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