Hackney youth celebrated with awards night
Over 250 young people and their families attended the second annual Hackney Youth Awards, which celebrated Young People from across the borough at a ceremony in Hackney Town Hall on Wednesday 6 December.
Over 60 young people were nominated for the awards, with nominations made by youth workers and other professionals working with young people. Mayor Philip Glanville was on hand to open the awards and congratulate young people for all their achievements.
Nominations were reviewed by an independent panel of young people, who also helped organise the whole event. Which included speeches from inspirational volunteers such as Luke Lucas, Spacecraft Engineer and performances from members of Hackney Youth Parliament and E-Kidz, award winning dance group from Concorde Youth Hub in Hackney.
There were 13 winners overall with categories ranging from arts and culture, sports to young adventurer and overcoming adversity.
Raivene Walters, 15, Clapton Girls Academy, Winner of Young Adventurer said: “I feel very happy, I was only 14 at the time and I got to go all the way to Africa and volunteer there. I also won Inspirational Young Person last year, so to be recognised 2 years in a row…I’m so happy. It’s really encouraging.”
This year’s awards also included a graduation ceremony for apprentices within Hackney Council. Cllr Williams, who is the cabinet member for employment and skills and is the lead on delivering the council’s apprenticeship programme presented the graduates with their certificates.
It was fantastic to see so many people successfully graduating from apprenticeships, and now going into full time employment or further study. I hope their stories will inspire more people in the borough to think about taking up an apprenticeship.
Janet Nkasaah, 24, Apprentice graduate said: “Graduating was very important to me, I felt a great sense of achievement. I was extremely happy for the recognition of completing my apprenticeship.”
Over the night, the audience heard some truly inspirational stories alongside three performances which included a beautiful song performed by Kairi Sanderson, 17, member of Hackney Youth Parliament, an incredible dance set from E-Kidz and a moving poem, written and performed by Nyah Buffong, 16, member of Hackney Youth Parliament, who also received a standing ovation from the audience.
Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville: “These awards are a great way to recognise and celebrate Hackney’s young people, who put in a lot of hard work and time to give back to their local communities. I was proud to celebrate the contribution so many of our young residents have to making Hackney a better place for all. Their determination and commitment to the future of Hackney is inspiring and I hope encourage even more people to get involved.”
Winners:
Sport Junior: Lemar Cabey
Sport Senior: Hackney Wick FC under 16’s
Art and Culture Junior: E-Kidz
Arts and Culture Senior: Hope Udeme
Overcoming Adversity Junior: Ma-Leiha Brightly
Overcoming Adversity Senior: Alicia Marchante
Inspirational Young Person Junior: Omar Chan
Inspirational Young Person Senior: Kieran Dishan Morgan
Young Adventurer Junior: Roxy Bonfield
Young Adventurer: Raivene Walters
Outstanding Volunteer Junior: Lucy Green
Outstanding Volunteer Senior: Ryan Praag
Community Impact: LGBTQ Youth Group
Apprentice Graduates:
Janet Nkasaah
La Braya Buffong
Ali Akcadag
Victoria Clark
Kyra Griffin
Liam Gallagher
