Adventure is where you find it….and these young people have found it in writing up World events
A team of 26 young people have been recruited through a government-funded initiative to report on major events such as the United Nations Climate Change Conference
Young people have been challenged to raise awareness about global issues and international development during the G20 summit in London next month.
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Ian Lewis Coordinator Campaign for Adventure
Michelle Clothier, co-founder of the Livity Group which Live Futures is part of, said: "We hope the project is the first step towards an active community of youth citizen journalists and content creators airing their views on global issues."
Interviews with Bob Geldof, foreign secretary David Miliband and managing director of the World Bank Ngozi Okonjo conducted by the young reporters at the DFID white paper conference earlier this month can be viewed at www.dfid.gov.uk/discoveryzone
The Department For International Development (DFID) has recruited Live Futures, the publisher of London's youth-run Live magazine, to generate interest in international issues.
The organisation is already mentoring a group of young reporters and training them to use film and editing equipment. The 16- to 24-year-olds will use video blogs, interviews, stories and mini-documentaries on the London summit website to communicate the event to their peers.
The young reporters are aged between 13 and 19 and will be sent to write features on events that also include MTV's Play to Stop concert on 7 December that coincides with the UN conference.
Other events they will report on will be The Guardian's International Development Journalism Awards and the Vinspired awards, which include a performance by Tinchy Stryder.
The initiative, called Write Here, Right Now, is funded through the Department for International Development's UKaid fund and is run by Live Futures, which publishes Live Magazine.
Articles written by the team, who were recruited through a promotion in publications including Sugar, will appear on the website www.writehererightnow.org.
Live Futures will also try to syndicate the articles to national magazines and newspapers.
One of the reporters April Williamson, 17, from London, said: "I've always wanted to get involved with local and international issues such as climate change, but I've always found that my age has restricted me."