CREATE WINS CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE NOW ‘ARTS AND CULTURE’ AWARD

Last night, I attended the Children & Young People Now awards ceremony, an evening that celebrates the work of those working with children, young people and families across the UK. I am delighted to announce that Create won the ‘Arts and Culture’ award.

Included in a shortlist of five, our work with young people – projects that span collaborations with young patients, young carers. LGBT young people, disabled and non-disabled children, young offenders and other vulnerable children – was chosen as ‘the initiative that has done the most to inspire children and young people in cultural activities, such as music, dance, drama or the visual arts, especially among disadvantaged groups, and where collaboration is shown between public services, the cultural sector and children and young people’.

The judging panel were impressed by Create’s “real diversity and focus on vulnerability” with one young judge stating that our programmes enabled “great experiences to break barriers”. To have been recognised for our work, amongst so many other outstanding organisations and individuals, is a real privilege. Receiving the award from Francesca, a member of the young judges panel who had been consulted on who should win each award, was particularly special.

The event was fun – the celebratory tone was set from the start with a jubilant performance by the Croydon Steel Orchestra, which received a fully-deserved standing ovation. They were followed by the high-energy presentational style of Dave Benson Phillips, presenter of Playdays and Get Your Own Back.

The last year has been a hugely successful one for Create; our programmes reached 1,310 children and young people in 2015/16, with 99.6% of community partners rating their Create project “successful overall”. I am so proud of everyone involved with Create who has enabled us to deliver our arts programmes with children and young people. To our participants, community partners, artists, funders and Create staff team – this is YOUR award. 

Create is deeply committed to raising awareness of the empowering qualities of engaging in the creative arts. To have been acknowledged with the Children and Young People Now Arts & Culture award is a huge boost: we can use platforms like this to continue to deliver inspiring projects and help create a fairer, more caring, more inclusive society.

Nicky Goulder, Chief Executive

This article is from 2016.