PLAnet

And the winners are…

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

The Philip Lawrence Awards 2011 winners are:

• Just Ask Nottingham (Nottingham)

• Mentality (Bristol)

• Reclaim Our Name (Manchester)

• Vale Youth Speak Up (Barry, Wales)

• Voice Against Violence (Scotland)

• Young Citizens (Lewisham, London)

Highly commended:

• Border Arts and Castlederg Youth Forum (Northern Ireland)

• Truth About Youth North East (Gateshead)

The judges thought these two projects also deserved recognition

The announcement was made at a parliamentary event on Wednesday celebrating the positive contribution young people are making in their communities, with a showcase of past winners, and a panel discussion on ways of reaching out to more young people.

Thank you for all your excellent project nominations for the Awards. The judges were very impressed by the overall quality.

Speaking at the announcement event, Frances Lawrence said:

This year’s Awards celebrate young people who have taken it upon themselves to deal with really cutting edge issues. They are wholly deserving of our thanks, support and admiration.”

Minister for Crime Prevention and Antisocial Behaviour Reduction Lord Henley said:

Through their energy and commitment, this year’s winners have all made a difference to their local communities and made them better and safer places to live. They are an inspiration to us all and an important reminder that the vast majority of young people make a positive contribution to society.”

Liz Davidson from 2011 winning project Vale Youth Speak Up, expressed what winning an award means to them:

To say we are overwhelmed is an understatement. Vale Youth Speak Up has only been meeting for two years, and to have attracted such kudos in such a short space of time is incredible. This … has inspired us to continue our work with even greater enthusiasm and gusto.”

Young Citizens tweeted:

Thank you to @PLAwards we are all very proud to have won. Looking forward to seeing you soon.”

Philip Lawrence Awards is now going on tour to celebrate the winners of the 2011 Awards. There will be events in their local communities with the young people, past winners and many others from the communities and we’ll be tweeting and updating you further over the next few weeks.