News and Events
A key component of our family programme focuses on well-being, self-discovery and unlocking leadership potential by acknowledging ones past. To celebrate Black History Month, Southside Young Leaders' Academy has created the Hidden Heritage Family Project; a project about shared learning and discovery. The aim of the project is to use different mediums for our families to explore, celebrate and share the journey of their own family history (past and present) with the wider community. We will be asking our families (boys and parents) to work together to research their family history. The aim of the project is: The project will be conducted in two phases: Phase 1: My Journey, Your Journey, Our Journey - Family research and artwork The families have been asked to create a display comprising of: pictures, facts, stories, songs, photos, maps, testimonies, interviews, and artefacts etc which tell the story of their family's journey. To further support this work our plan is to create a 'living document' of the boys and their parent's black history experiences - each family has been given an A2 piece of fabric to decorate and personalize to represent and celebrate their family. This will form part of a larger Southside Young Leaders' Academy Family quilt; the quilt will grow and be added to as new families join the Academy and include their journeys. In the future we could also extend an invitation to other family organisations in the borough to create a borough wide family quilt/tapestry. Phase 2: Community Exhibition We would like to share our families' histories within the wider community by holding a week long celebration of family led workshops and an exhibition at The House Café & Gallery in Camberwell. The week will include: Niamh Grogan, Partner
Black History Month Special - The Hidden Heritage Family Project
Turning the spotlight on music piracy - New award project for Southside
| Leading international law firm, S J Berwin, announced on 27th April 2009 that it has established a ground breaking partnership with Southside Young Leaders' Academy.
Launching a three year education project to enhance understanding of the law and people's rights, Niahm Grogan, Partner at S J Berwin, said "We are delighted to have created this three year collaborative youth project to support the work of Southside Young Leaders' Academy and produce young leaders for the future with a keen understanding of how the law shapes and enhances our lives. The first project for S J Berwin's Future Managing Partner Award will focus on the music industry and we hope it will stimulate new creative ideas to highlight the real effect of music piracy for everyone - musicians and music lovers alike. " Responding, Andy Walker, Chief Executive of Southside Young Leaders' Academy said "We are really delighted that S J Berwin has established this Award Project. All three projects will be real leadership challenges designed to stretch the boys, increase their understanding about key issues in our society and allow them to interface with professionals in business and industry. We believe collaborative projects such as these will increase the boy's confidence and act as strong motivational drivers for their future activities."
The 2009 S J Berwin project consists of two parts, each comprising 50% of the total marks. Part A will test leadership, behaviour and management potential. Part B will focus on the student's research into the music industry and its processes as well as the student's communication skills about how the law on copyright can be promoted in the evolving music world. The project has to be completed by 12th September and S J Berwin will make the award in October 2009.
Southside Young Leaders' Academy celebrated its first Anniversary at a reception hosted by leading law firm, S J Berwin LLP, on 27th April 2009. Stars of the event were the boys from the Academy, who performed a spectacular drill and shared some of their hopes for the future through poetry and prepared speeches, receiving considerable applause from everyone in the audience. Guests included parents, teachers, Trustees as well as Officials and Councillors from the Lambeth and Southwark and members of the GLA. Opening the event, Francis Evans QC, Chair of the Trustees for Southside Young Leaders' Academy, highlighted the purpose of setting up the Academy - to capture and nurture the bright spark in each boy to ensure that they could achieve their full potential. He indicated that the Academy was already seeing considerable progress in the boy's behaviour and confidence and this was reinforced by feedback from parents and teachers. Keynote speakers, James Cleverly, the Mayor's Ambassador for Young People in London, and Derrick Anderson, Chief Executive for Lambeth Council both congratulated the boys for their performance and expressed high expectations for their future. James Cleverly advocated a strong passion for publicising the good things that young people in London are already achieving. He indicated that everyone needs to be excited and proud about what young people are delivering. He stressed that whilst City Hall can make it easier for young people to be heard, everyone has a part to play to champion the good work they do. Derrick Anderson expressed similar optimism about how young people can contribute to society in his own poem*, especially written and dedicated to the boys of Southside Academy. He suggested that leadership meant having good ideas but also the willingness to look for good ideas from other sources. He warned that failing to plan, was planning to fail. He indicated that the Southside Young Leaders' Academy project sat well with local authorities' wider ambitions for young people, helping to raise the level of achievement for all.
* Click here to view Derrick's poem
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