My Story Project Launched

Launch of ‘My Story’, a youth-led project
www.mystorymedia.org

Young people from Bristol and North Somerset have been sampling different media techniques and creating their own stories as part of the ‘My Story’ project, funded by Mediabox and supported by South West Screen. Vanishing Rites has partnered with Avon Youth Association Youth Bus in Shirehampton and Black Carers Project at Docklands Youth Club to provide disadvantaged young people with the opportunity to tell their stories or highlight issues of interest to them and their peers through a creative media project.

Young people have been trained in practical skills such as cameras and sound recording equipment and have conducted interviews in their communities or with their families to highlight some intimate portraits of their lives.

These stories will be brought together in a multimedia mosaic that anyone can access in order to learn more about the young peoples lives.

These stories will eventually be uploaded to the larger Our Stories project (www.ourstories.org), which aims to gather 5 million stories worldwide by 2012.

The launch event for the My Story project was held at the Shirehampton
Golf Club on Friday 30th January 2009, where the young people had their achievements recognised by the Rt Hon The Lord and The Lady Mayoress of Bristol. People got an opportunity to go on the AYA Youth Bus and see the stories online.

Mediabox
Mediabox is a Department of Children, Schools and Families fund to help young people to create media projects and get their voices heard. It offers disadvantaged 13-19 year olds the opportunity to develop and produce creative media projects, using print, television, film, radio and online platforms. Mediabox is delivered by a consortium by First Light Movies and Media Trust in partnership with Skillset and the UK Film Council. www.media-box.co.uk