The Teens’ Speech

I’ve been very good at not using the blog to punt Poke projects recently. But here’s one I think it’s OK to flog. Not because I’ve been involved with it (I haven’t), but because it’s important. And not in a ‘driving sales of a big fat company’ kind of important. In a ‘doing something positive for teenagers’ way.

I’ve always thought Barnardo’s have done interesting stuff to counter the Feral Teen Hype that the media seems to love so dearly. The same Feral Teen Hype that makes me scared to leave my house in the evening. Of course there are some shitty teenagers out there. But we can’t damn them all. And if you take a minute to listen to some of their stories and their experiences maybe you’ll start to see the world though a slightly more teen-friendly lens. Andy has written a great piece about the Power of Listening over on his blog. Which I’m pretty sure will ring true for most of us.

I’ve not really explained what the project is yet. Basically Barnardo’s are giving young people the chance to speak up about their world, and this is being edited into a Teens’ Speech mini-doc that will be shown on Christmas day after lunch. It’s going to come to life online on the front page of MySpace.

Up until now the campaign has been about getting young people engaged and submitting their thoughts, so unless you’re young you may not have heard much about it. We’re now starting to edit the footage into the final documentary and trying to get older people (like me) to look at it too.

Visit http://www.theteensspeech.org.uk/

And just in case you think Barnardo’s are all about Childrens’ Homes (which they haven’t been for many years) here’s a short piece featuring the ways they’re helping young people turn their lives around today.

And if you’ve not seen their latest TV spot (by BBH) here it is. It’s rather good.