www.citizenseye.org

All elements of community media across city/county coming together to generate the news through the following:• 15volunteerrunnewsagencies• 30Venues–training,workshops,

seminars• 5newsletters• SoarCommunitymagazine• Waveyoungpeople’snewspaper• YouTube-CommMediaHubchannel• FlickrPhotostream• Socialmedia–Twitter,Facebook• 16pageCommunityCohesion

supplementinpartnershipwithLeicesterMercury

• 2ndCommunityMediaAwards–Friday12thNovember

If your organisation,

community group, charity or social enterprise wants to get involved contact John Coster at

editor@citizenseye.orgFor further information visit

www.citizenseye.org

QRCodeforCommunityMediaWeek

3

Editor’sCommentWelcome to an action packed issue that includes jet washing the city streets and an international film premiere.

During last month’s Adult Learners Week we recruited twenty new Citizen Reporters. Keep your eyes open for them over the summer as they develop their skills during National Family Week, Volunteers Week, Bike Week and Refugee Week. If you want to join them please get in touch to find out about the next Community Media Training School session.

Two more news agencies have been created with Bands ‘n’ Beatz catering for a wide range of musical genres and the Dad’s News Agency DNA. The young people of Wave, the newspaper for young people published in partnership with the Leicester Mercury, are pleased with funding secured for another six issues and their own newsroom at Phoenix Square. Their nomination for a national award has rounded off an exciting first six months and they are certainly busting negative myths about young people in the city and county.

August Bank Holiday will see the return of Sky Ride Leicester. Over 15,000 cyclists are expected to take to Leicester’s streets and enjoy the scenic tour of some of our best landmarks. Whether you’re a frequent cyclist, or new to this healthy pursuit, you’ll find something of interest on this traffic controlled route. Why not take part and raise money for your chosen charity at the same time. Register now at www.goskyride.com

Finally, I’m excited to announce the first Community Media Week from 8th - 13th November 2010. Venues across the city and county will be hosting events, with training aimed at raising awareness of volunteering opportunities through the generation of community news. The full programme of events will be covered in our next issue. In the meantime, if you want to send in some community news, why not try out the new green button on the Citizens’ Eye website – ‘Submit New’.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

TheContents04 CAPs News

05 Break the Cycle

06 Kona Blue

07 Refugee Week

08 Children’s Council

09 Reverse Graffiti

10 Sky Ride

11 INO Magazine

12 Bands ‘n’ Beatz

13 Hilltop Radio

14 Film Premieres

15 St Matthews Dynamos

16 Volunteering

www.citizenseye.orgThe Community Media Hub

Learning & Information LibraryBishop Street, Leicester LE1 6AA

Tel: 0116 299 5413or 0116 222 4229

Email: editor@citizenseye.org

John CosterSoar Community Editor

Photo credits: Tina Barton (Front Cover), Nick Rawle (Film Premiere).

Contributors: Claire Poynton-Smith, Nivedita Choudhuri, Steve Billingham, Mathew Hulbert, Tina Barton, Gavan Wilmot,Elisha Shamba and Tara Gatherer.

www.citizenseye.org

CAPs NEWS

The editorial team have currently been looking into running training courses aimed at all levels of photography within CAPs, which are to be held over the summer and during Community Media Week. More information and regular updates on this can be found on the Citizens’ Eye website. We are contacting local universities and photography groups to try and raise awareness of CAPs and build up members, as well as setting up projects and covering local events as a team.

If you want to become a member of CAPs you can visit the flickr site at www.flickr.com/photos/citizenseye or e-mail your details and photos to pics@citizenseye.org We look forward to hearing from you.

CAPs News

CAPs News

CAPs News

CAPs has come on leaps and bounds since the last issue. With weekly meetings held at BBC Radio Leicester for members and new volunteers joining all the time, it’s looking bright for Leicestershire’s Community Action Photographers.

CAPs News

www.citizenseye.org

Community Action Photographers

By Tara Gatherer

5

The Dads News AgencyBREAK THE CYCLE

The Break the Cycle Dads Project, run by a team of three at Family Action, have launched an exciting news agency for dads in partnership with Citizens’ Eye, called DNA.

They will be asking young people to say what makes a good dad using a giant graphic visual as they visit events across the city. It will build on their existing research in Leicester and help highlight local examples of good practice to encourage others to work with this group.

Dads and male carers can get a rough ride in the mainstream media. The aim is to shine a light on the positive impact a male role model can have on children and young people, whilst hopefully dispelling some of the commonly held myths. Elements of our society still view every hoodie wearing youngster as automatically up to no good and every man walking down the street with children on his own as suspicious.

We aim to engage dads and male carers in a way that allows them to express views that promote positive involvement in their children’s day to day lives. The Dads News Agency will provide a comprehensive programme of community media training and plans to create its first newsletter in Community Media Week, 8th-13th November 2010.

The news agency was officially launched on June 2nd 2010, during National Family Week.

If you’re a dad or male carer and would like to get involved in this ground breaking project, please contact the Break the Cycle team on 0116 308 7981.

www.citizenseye.org

Three local families have come together to offer something different; the idea of taking a cool London coffee house and putting a local Leicester feel to it, in the heart of the Leicester Highcross Shopping Centre. Kona Blue takes inspiration from Jamaican and Brazilian premium coffees. However, most products will be sourced locally, supporting local businesses and the sandwiches will be lovingly handcrafted on site. Also, if the ingredients are available, our chef will prepare something bespoke just for you, so just ask. We are local people with family values.

Our staff are exceptional too. Store Manager, Josh Turner, is one of

the UK’s number one baristas, coming 4th in the UK Latte Art Championships in 2008.

We now also have free Wi-Fi available in store with any purchase. If you love our coffee you can now take it away with you, ground to your liking, and enjoy our delicious KB coffee at home, or the office too. We don’t just aim to support Leicester people, we are also working with a premier UK bean roaster using Europe’s first environmentally friendly roaster.

Please tell us what you think and take advantage of the opening offers we have put together for you.

KONA BLUE LAUNCHES IN HIGHCROSS

7

Refugee Week 2010Refugee Week is a UK-wide programme of arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK and encourage a better understanding between communities.

Every year, hundreds of events are organised aiming to counter fear, ignorance and negative stereotypes, exploring the contributions that refugees give to the UK and the reasons why they seek sanctuary in the first place.

Events this year, taking place between 14th - 20th June, include a British Citizenship Test Competition,

the World Refugee Day Umbrella Parade and the Alternative World Cup Football; a five-a-side tournament bringing together players of refugee and non-refugee backgrounds.

The main theme this year is ‘Simple Acts’, consisting of twenty everyday actions that can be done by anyone, such as cooking a dish from another country, giving someone a book about refugees and fact-finding about refugees.

These ‘Simple Acts’ may sound insignificant, but the campaign hopes they will encourage greater understanding of refugees and the breaking down of barriers within communities.

Refugee Week is a multi-agency project, including the Refugee Council, Amnesty International and the Children’s Society, amongst others.

For more information on the programme of events in Leicester during Refugee Week 2010 visit www.hatnews.org

7

By Elisha Shamba

www.citizenseye.org

Leicester Children’s Council is gearing up for a summer of exciting developments. The next four months will see the Children’s Council recruiting 16 new members from across the city to enable it to widely represent the 7-13 age group of Leicester’s young people.

The Children’s Council Newsletter will help to capture the local issues from young people and enable them to feed information to the Young People’s Council for the city. This will ensure the concerns gathered can be passed on to people within the City Council.

The Children’s Council is holding a recruitment event on June 29th. It’s from 5pm-6.30pm at SDSA on Bishop Street, in the city centre. Anyone aged 7-13 who is interested in finding out about the Children’s Council and becoming a rep should contact Tina Barton.

Leicester Children’s Council has just produced the ‘We All Matter’ report. They have recently consulted with 1132 young people aged 5-22 from across the city, about issues that are important to them. For a copy of this report e-mail tina@wotboxcons.co.uk

They will be purchasing five new Wot Boxes to help young people, within their local areas to become young reporters and report on local issues. The information will help them produce a citywide Children’s Council Newsletter which will be produced quarterly. If that’s not enough, they will be working towards ensuring that young people aged 7-13 years are represented on the Children’s Centre and Sure Start Advisory Boards.

The Children’s Council Mentors are working hard to support the developments by delivering fortnightly workshops at eight libraries across Leicester. Will Hough, one of the four mentors, said: “It is a really exciting time for the Children’s Council. They have worked hard in bringing together all their ideas for the development plan.”

WOT? FIVE NEW BOXES?

It is a really exciting time for the Children’s Council.”Children’s Council Mentor, Will Hough

“

9

Reverse GraffitiI’m sure most of you have seen, or heard of the reverse graffiti that appeared on the streets of Leicester city centre on Thursday April 29th. The same design appeared in numerous different places; a figure doing a star jump with an X on their chest and the words ‘X marks the spot’. The group who claimed responsibility are calling themselves ‘We Marked Leicester’ and their identities were revealed two days after the designs were discovered. Bez Killeen brought participation workers from agencies such as Connexions, Leicester Children’s Council, Citizens’ Eye and Lighthouse Learning together as part of a campaign to get young people voting. On Saturday May 1st they revealed themselves by handing out flyers under the big screen on Humberstone Gate. The group asked first time voters to sign the stencil they used to spray the streets. I researched reverse graffiti a while ago after hearing about it. It is a relatively new idea and is spreading across the country. Companies such as Starbucks and Costa Coffee have even used it for advertising campaigns. You may have written ‘clean me’ on a dirty van before and reverse graffiti holds the same principle, removing dirt to write a message. However, if a graffiti artist wants to work on a large surface such as the pavement or a wall, simply

9

attempting to write words or draw pictures with their finger will not have any effect on substantial dirt. This calls for a pressure washer or power hose and using a stencil for your design. It is named reverse graffiti, as instead of putting material onto a surface to create a design, the design is created by dirt being blasted off the surface and the clean parts become the lines that form the artwork. Also known as clean tagging, dust tagging or grime writing, it is environmentally friendly and does not, by law, count as defacing property, seeing as nobody technically ‘owns’ the dirt. Well done to everyone who was involved in ‘We Marked Leicester’, who worked with the City Cleansing team to capture the imaginations of young people and first time voters.

By Claire Poynton-Smith

www.citizenseye.org

Cyclists wanted: any age, no experience necessary.

Sunday 29th August

Sky Ride is just about as much fun as you can have on two wheels.

Register free, visit goskyride.com

8010 Skyride 170x240 Leicester Press Ad Soar Community Magazine.indd 1 28/05/2010 11:05

11

INO CREATES A BRIGHTER FUTUREThe INO Mag news agency that reports on the Criminal Justice System was started in 2008 and has grown through the hard work of its first two volunteer ex-offender editors. Andy moved onto pastures new and for the last eight months Mark Clark has steadily grown the agency into a recognised resource.

Our printed newsletter now covers all Leicestershire and Rutland Probation establishments, Leicester City Libraries and Leicestershire County Libraries. The magazine can also be viewed at www.issuu.com/communitymediahub which has allowed a whole new audience to find out about this resource.

We are currently revamping the INO Mag website so the new look will offer more opportunity to update the information and by adding relevant CJS links, become a portal for all sectors.

We are looking for articles from ex-offenders or their families about positive experiences they have had in breaking the cycle, or experiences of the Criminal Justice System.

The relationship with Leicester City Libraries is unique. Offenders/Ex-offenders are given the opportunity to take on the role of Citizen Reporters and are assisted to give a voice to their community of faith, interest or geography.

An exciting opportunity in the year ahead is the change of library management in HMP Welford Road

from County Libraries to Leicester City Libraries. This will hopefully enable INO Mag to be an integral part of the services offered to prison offenders. This will lead to offenders leaving prison with experience of community media skills, then they may move into volunteering opportunities with the City Libraries including radio programme production.

INO Mag comes in two formats; A full version for CJS staff and a bite size version for offenders and ex-offenders, offering them

contact details where they can find further information. This will allow the editorial team to double the readership of the magazine within prisons and probation.

Finally, through groundbreaking work by Mark, the magazine will hopefully be sponsored in Derbyshire by the Derby College and nationally by SOVA. The next 12 months for INO Mag look set to be very exciting. Let’s hope this positive story of ex-offenders doing something for their communities is a model to be replicated.

Contact the editorial team on editor@inomag.org

www.citizenseye.org

By Steve Billingham

Bands ‘n’ Beatz is a brand new solely music based agency, which has been set up to review the latest music and maybe a few old classics as well!

Bands ‘n’ Beatz will also cover the local music scene, reviewing gigs, profiling and showcasing artists, as well as reviewing the latest CDs and what is ‘doing the business’ at the minute. Send your gig details in and they will be listed, as will various music books and DVDs.

Local demos will be listened to and reviewed. Some places push the demo aside. We don’t. We listen and review it. Bands/projects will receive press and who knows? It may lead to better things.

Set up as a result of a passion for writing and music, along with the frustration of not hearing enough good local music, Bands ‘n’ Beatz aims to cover the best music both locally and nationally.

With summer and the World Cup upon us, an essential selection of chill-out CDs will be reviewed, including quality mixes by Ibiza and Balearic legends, Jose Padilla and Alfredo. So not to worry, if you can’t afford Ibiza this year, stick one of these on!

There will also be a ‘band of the noughties’ feature and a ‘beeps and bleeps’ section reviewing techno CDs, plus a top five drummers and drum solos chart.

Plenty of goodies to look forward to then. I can’t wait. Remember to send your demos/gig details/general band banter in and we’ll have a listen and get them reviewed in the magazine.

beatz‘N’

To submit to Bands ‘n’ Beatz please send demos or content to:The Community Media HubLearning & Information LibraryBishop Street, Leicester LE1 6AAOr email editor@citizenseye.org

13

HILLTOP RADIO PIONEERS

By Mathew Hulbert

Community media is thriving in Earl Shilton and the wider Hinckley area.

At the heart of it is Hilltop Radio, Hinckley’s own community internet radio station, broadcasting from its own dedicated studios at the Earl Shilton Community House.

Set up by a group of dedicated radio volunteers, led by Station Manager and former Hinckley Policeman, Dave Elliott, it broadcasts around the clock. The schedule includes a range of different programmes, from dedicated broadcasts from our youth group, to Phil Gardner’s ‘Rockaria’ and Friday Night Live with Chris Savage.

I present the station’s own dedicated current affairs show called ‘Mat’s Mix,’ (think ‘The Jeremy Vine Show’ on BBC Radio Two) which can be heard each Monday and Friday between Midday and 2pm.

We recently achieved a fantastic first at Hilltop Radio. I conducted the only broadcast hustings debate between the three main party candidates vying to be the next MP for Hinckley and Bosworth.

It was great to think that this was taking place not on the BBC or the local commercial station, but live and only on a volunteer-run community radio station.We’re about to start another exciting aspect of our work, which will see me running a short course teaching our young people how to carry out broadcast interviews.

This can take place thanks to a grant we’ve secured from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council and I’d like to thank Rachel Duncan, a Council Officer based at the Community House, for all her hard work in putting the application together. Hilltop Radio is truly a wonderful team effort.

Meanwhile, I also recently set up a dedicated local news website for the Hinckley area. It’s called ‘LE10 News’ and includes local information, events and sports news amongst other things.

Currently, I’m a one-man band but I’m hoping other people from Hinckley and Bosworth will become involved and submit content for the site. Take a look via:www.le10news.blogspot.com

If you’d like to be involved with either Hilltop Radio or LE10 News please e-mail me via: comedymat@yahoo.co.uk

Hilltop Radio can be heard via: www.hilltop-radio.com

From left to right in the picture: Michael Mullaney (Lib Dem), David Tredinnick (Conservative) and Rory Palmer (Labour) with me standing.

FOR THE COMMUNITY

www.citizenseye.org

CAME TO THE CITY CENTREWHENCANNES

Young People from the St. Matthews Contact Project and Earl Shilton’s Church Lad’s & Church Girl’s Brigade were the stars of their own world film premiere on Saturday May 22nd.

After five months of planning and hard work, the event was an excuse to roll out the red carpet at Phoenix Square in Leicester’s Cultural Quarter. Over 200 people packed into Screen 1 to watch ‘Knocked Out’ and ‘Jordan’s Judgement’, with each film containing a powerful message about the daily choices young people are faced with.

The young people arrived in chauffeur-driven limousines to a cheering crowd of friends and family.

The Contact Project is no stranger to performing in front of a live audience from their Comedy Festival involvement, but this

film proved a real challenge to all involved in creating ‘Knocked Out’. It’s the story of a young man’s struggle on leaving prison to avoid returning because of organised street fighting.

‘Jordan’s Judgement’ is about a girl trapped between the street and her band. She feels a sense of loyalty to her gang, but knows her behaviour is wrong. Her friend reaches out a hand to pull her towards the right side of the tracks, but will her efforts be enough?

Funding for the project was in the region of £30,000 and came from a partnership between, Leicestershire County Council, Leicester City Council, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, the Find Your Talent project and Igniting Ambition – a regional programme for cultural activity funded by the Legacy Trust and the East Midlands Development Agency.

The films will now go on a tour of festivals and events across the city and county throughout the summer.

www.citizenseye.org

15

This was a big occasion and moment in the short history of the St Matthews Dynamos. This ambitious club was formed in 2008 by the Contact Project, a voluntary children and youth project based on St Matthews estate.

The workers, alongside young people, approached John Lewis for initial set up funds to purchase all the necessary kit and affiliation to the league and FA. This allowed us to enter the Leicester Sunday League in Division five for 2008/2009. We finished a respectable 4th in the league and reached the final of the Chairman’s Cup in that first season. That day

was our chance to win our first honours and make history.

The match took place at the ‘Mecca’ of local football; Holmes Park in Whetstone. We arrived with a big contingent from St Matthews to support the team. There were nerves among the group, as for many, this was their first cup final. The run to the final had been hard fought with a penalty shootout victory and a last minute extra time winner along the way.

An unstable first half saw Piper United’s experience allow them to dominate possession and gain a hold on the game. After a half-time team talk the second half improved and turned on a penalty taken by Naji Famau Naji. With the deadlock broken, the confidence of the team

shone through. The second goal followed just ten minutes later when captain, Nassor Mohammed, drilled home into the bottom corner.

Deep into added time, Issa Dulae, on as a substitute, was through one on one with the keeper and calmly sealed the game with a tidy finish. Players and club members celebrated by piling on top of one another shortly after the final whistle blew. The St Matthews Dynamos strive to play open, attractive and fair football that is inclusive of all who wish to be associated. We welcome anyone who aspires to these values and levels of dedication.

For more information visitwww.teamstats.net/stmatthewsdynamofc

St Matthews Dynamos FC 3 - 0 Piper UnitedChairman’s Cup Final 2009/2010 Holmes Park Sunday May 2nd 2010

By Gavan Wilmot

VOLUNTEERING

16

The View

By Nivedita Choudhuri

I started volunteering in Leicester two-and-a-half years ago because I hoped it would eventually lead to a paid job. Incidentally, I am still waiting for that paid job!

I have worked as a senior sub-editor for an English-language publication in India for five years. I came to the UK five years ago with my family, hoping to find employment in the print media.

Sadly, my efforts to find work came to nothing. I did land a few interviews, but nothing concrete happened. In January 2008, I started volunteering for an organisation called Choice Support that helps people with learning disabilities find work. It was ironic! Here I was looking for work

and I was now expected to help others find employment.

I moved on after a year to Westcotes Library, where I still teach basic IT skills to members of the public. I also help ESOL speakers at another institute hone their speaking and writing skills. Last month, I started volunteering as a reporter for the Leicester Mercury.

Through volunteering, I have been able to meet many people. I’ve also discovered many interesting facts about Leicester, which is a fascinating and vibrant city.

Meanwhile, I am waiting and praying, for that paid job!

We all know about the stereotype volunteer; middle-aged, maybe retired and a do-gooder. I don’t really conform to this image. I have some time to go before I reach middle age and I am many years away from retirement.