Birmingham teenagers mark anniversary of the riots

One year on from the riots that swept across the nation and into Birmingham, youth charity Envision puts on festival to prove to the city that local young people are a force for good.

Youth charity Envision Birmingham have been marking the one year anniversary of the riots by taking over the city in a positive way, hosting a youth festival to prove to the community that its young people are making a positive difference across the city.

The charity is trying to erase the bad memories and negative stereotypes which followed on from the riots with their ‘One Day’ event in which the young people showcased talented local young artists and create pledge cards to encourage other young people to get involved.

The  festival ia one of seven held around the nation to mark the anniversary of the riots and is part of The Co-operative Foundation’s Truth about Youth initiative, a nationwide programme started two years ago by the grant-making arm of The Co-operative Group.

In Birmingham In the last 10 months, over 400 young people have taken part in TaY, delivering 100 projects in their local community and reaching over 11,000 people. They’ve given over 300k hours volunteering; the equivalent of £1m.

19 year old Kashif Mehboob  an Envision graduate from Birmingham was selected by The Co-operative Foundation to join its National Youth Advisory Panel, along with six young people from other cities, to bring all seven TaY projects together.

You can see his interview with Heart's Emma Reid below.