We won!
We are incredibly excited to announce that our Youth-Led Empowerment Network (YEN) was chosen by the NLA Reimagine London jury to win the Young Londoners Prize!
YEN founders and We Rise Alumni; Skye, Sia and Regina not only picked up the prize from the prestigious Guildhall in the City of London but were invited back to present their idea at the London Real Estate Forum.
The winners were announced on 17th September 2024, at the opening of the New London Architecture’s exhibition showcasing the full 25 ideas that made the shortlist.
Skye, Sia and Regina have all grown up in Lambeth and the Youth-Led Empowerment Network is their vision that ‘Reimagines’ London’s unloved and forgotten spaces, bringing peace, safety and connection to neighbourhoods.
Much of the best architecture and urban design is based on visionary thinking. But blue-sky, no holds-barred, ‘what-if’ ideas rarely enjoy the oxygen of publicity, and even less often make it into reality. The YEN and other ideas displayed at the NLA exhibition serve as a reminder to us all that London needs big thinkers and big ideas to help us shape the city that we all deserve.
What the NLA said about the competition:
‘We asked for ideas which have the power to inspire change. We wanted ideas that creatively reimagine the experience of the city, either by tackling a real issue London is currently facing or by imagining an ambitious new concept.
Submissions were judged on originality, demonstration of creativity and relevance to the New London Agenda’s “Six Pillars of Placemaking”.
We received over 100 ideas, with more than half submitted by individuals or groups under 35 years old. These ideas addressed real issues London currently faces, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability and reclaiming streets for pedestrians.’
Sia-Roshanda Pinnock-Marah is a 20 year old graphic arts and photography student who’s studying at The University of Southampton. Sia understands the value of communities from having been part of the Army Cadet Force.
Skye Cozier, who’s 22, cites her experiences of growing up in Lambeth as having helped shape her passion and interests. She currently works with Lambeth Council’s Elevate organisation that opens up creative work opportunities to underrepresented young people.
19 year old UCL Civil Engineering student, Regina Chan-Lok is really interested in how spaces can be used to facilitate people to come together.
Sia told the London Real Estate Forum:
‘I personally put myself forward to work on this because I believe that we need more spaces that reflect and represent young people.
Today we don’t come to you with issues, we come to you with solutions!’
The impact of the experience of presenting at such a prestigious event is incredibly valuable for young people too:
‘Giving the presentation at LREF was an amazing opportunity to get out of my comfort zone. I was really nervous at first but once the presentation had started the nerves went away.’ – Regina Chan-Lok.
The Yen is important because it aims to connect people within their local communities and encourages face to face engagement in activities by providing skill focused events and workshops. This reduces screen time.
So how can it be taken forward:
The YEN founders shared their plans for activating the network:
- First and foremost we would need to start building up a team of passionate, dedicated and enthusiastic individuals who genuinely want to create change.
- Sponsorship and start-up funding to help our organisation in terms of space hire and the needed resources and equipment to bring our events to life.
- The locations to host our events exist within local communities. Getting permission to use these spaces will help us to start events.
- Keeping our community up to date with our plans using the appropriate platforms and methods they use.
Congratulations to Skye, Sia and Regina and a huge thanks to consultants, PRD who partnered with us to help deliver the winning project. A shout out too to We Are Graft for help with the animation!
To find out more about the YEN and watch the animation, follow this link.
