:00:07. > :00:10.parents to help pay for text books. All this week the BBC News Channel
:00:11. > :00:13.has been shining the spotlight on young people. They are winners of
:00:14. > :00:16.this year's Rotary Young Citizen Awards. Ellie Crisell is at
:00:17. > :00:18.Birmingham's International Convention Centre, where the award
:00:19. > :00:27.presentation is about to take place. Ellie, what's the atmosphere like?
:00:28. > :00:33.It is very quiet and Yuri to be standing in and in an enormous cap a
:00:34. > :00:38.stronger conference hall. The pressure is on. We are here at the
:00:39. > :00:45.international conference centre. It is a special year for Rotary this
:00:46. > :00:50.year. It is the 100th year of Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland. It was
:00:51. > :01:00.a setup in America 100 years ago by a lawyer, and the idea is that the
:01:01. > :01:06.principles behind it is `` are principle `` is friendship.
:01:07. > :01:12.There are more than 1.2 million members globally and more than 200
:01:13. > :01:18.countries involved. In this country, 51,000 members. A huge
:01:19. > :01:22.organisation and I am sure we have all heard of some of the charitable
:01:23. > :01:28.work that Rotary has been involved in. One of the projects that Rotary
:01:29. > :01:30.has organised is an awards ceremony to celebrate the achievements of
:01:31. > :01:37.exceptional young people in the community. These are either young
:01:38. > :01:40.people who have perhaps overcome some personal adversity or have gone
:01:41. > :01:49.out of their way to help others. This is called the RIBI Young
:01:50. > :01:53.Citizen Awards. All week we have been highlighting the young people
:01:54. > :01:58.who will be waiting to receive their awards. It is open to young people
:01:59. > :02:05.from the ages of 12`25. Rotary clubs have been nominating for months
:02:06. > :02:08.now. We have the short five winners of the it can either be an
:02:09. > :02:13.individual or a group, and we have a mixture of both this year, and they
:02:14. > :02:17.are waiting behind me. We are going to run the awards ceremony right
:02:18. > :02:22.through, so you will see all of the young people receiving their
:02:23. > :02:25.awards. We will be hearing their inspirational stories. I am going to
:02:26. > :02:28.hand straight over now to the presenter, who is on stage ready to
:02:29. > :02:36.tell us more. Thank you. Hello and welcome one and
:02:37. > :02:43.all. It is fantastic to be here. We are here in Birmingham for Rotary's
:02:44. > :02:49.Young Citizen Awards 2014, which is now in its eighth year. The awards
:02:50. > :02:51.honour the extraordinary achievements of young people who
:02:52. > :02:59.have all done something unique and something fantastic in society.
:03:00. > :03:03.Rotary clubs across Britain and Ireland nominated youngsters for
:03:04. > :03:08.these awards to stop the eventual winners are here with us today, and
:03:09. > :03:25.over the next half an hour, you will see some truly inspirational young
:03:26. > :03:27.people. To our first award. Our first award goes to Harvey Parry
:03:28. > :03:31.from north London, nicknamed the Paralympic kid runner. When Harvey
:03:32. > :03:34.was 15 months old, he had to have both his legs and part of his right
:03:35. > :03:46.hand amputated, after contracting meningitis. The eight`year`old has
:03:47. > :03:49.now become one of the most successful disabled athletes for his
:03:50. > :03:52.age, winning 19 mostly gold medals for Britain. Harvey was nominated by
:03:53. > :03:56.the Rotary Club of Edmonton. Jean Mackenzie saw Harvey in action.
:03:57. > :04:09.Harvey, like most eight`year`old boys, enjoys putting the ball with
:04:10. > :04:14.his friends, but Harvey is quite unlike his peers. He caught
:04:15. > :04:18.meningitis when he was 15 months old and had to have both his legs
:04:19. > :04:21.amputated. I had to make the decision to have his legs and had to
:04:22. > :04:24.have both his legs amputated. I had to make the decision to have his
:04:25. > :04:29.legs want to have the medicated because I was thinking of him being
:04:30. > :04:34.a child and he would not be able to be but Harvey underwent intensive
:04:35. > :04:39.rehabilitation and learned to walk, and it was not long before he had
:04:40. > :04:43.ambitions to run. Aged three, he became the youngest child in the
:04:44. > :04:48.world to be fitted with carbon fibre running blades, and took part in his
:04:49. > :04:54.first race. I'd do it because I genuinely like doing sports and they
:04:55. > :04:59.find it really fun. I'd like to race with my friends and stuff. If he did
:05:00. > :05:07.not have the sport perhaps he would be a different boy today. The fact
:05:08. > :05:11.that he can't be competitive `` that he can be competitive gives him the
:05:12. > :05:16.edge for life. It is that edge that has one Harvey 19 medals in
:05:17. > :05:20.competitions around America, taking him one of the most successful
:05:21. > :05:23.disabled athletes his age. He does not just sit in the wheelchair
:05:24. > :05:29.thinking he cannot do anything. He has learned to run, hop, skip and
:05:30. > :05:34.jump and is an inspiration to us all. Harvey's next challenge is
:05:35. > :05:38.learning to swim so he can compete in triathlons. He also hopes his
:05:39. > :05:46.success can inspire others. In the future, have been I can help other
:05:47. > :05:53.amputees be like me. I can actually help them go further than what they
:05:54. > :05:59.are. Harvey also wants to go further. Does that mean the young
:06:00. > :06:12.champion could one day be Paralympian `` be a Paralympian?
:06:13. > :06:16.Absolutely fantastic and inspirational, and we are lucky
:06:17. > :06:19.enough to have Harvey here with us today, along with his mother, he was
:06:20. > :06:25.clutching his certificate. There you are. Eating as a demonstration. You
:06:26. > :06:30.can feel free to have a seat and watch your boy in action as iChat to
:06:31. > :06:34.him. Harvey, 19 medals, that is pretty amazing. How do you feel
:06:35. > :06:44.about winning all those awards? Well, I'd don't actually know. I'd
:06:45. > :07:00.just like racing with my friends, and defy when, Iwan. `` if eye when,
:07:01. > :07:04.I win. He is very blase. I have just gotten 19 medals, it does nothing.
:07:05. > :07:12.How do you feel about winning this award? Well, I am really proud,
:07:13. > :07:20.because I have never actually one a certificate and a trophy. Only gold
:07:21. > :07:27.medals! Where are you going to put these? Do you keep them in a special
:07:28. > :07:37.place in your house? I will try to fit them in my then attend back. Not
:07:38. > :07:41.in a Tracy cabinets? No. `` trophy cabinet. Tell us about the games you
:07:42. > :07:56.have competed in. Well, I have been to America, and I'd go to race in
:07:57. > :08:03.California and other places I've forgotten about. Including Oklahoma
:08:04. > :08:09.and San Diego. Very impressive indeed. Harvey has also been
:08:10. > :08:13.campaigning for the meningitis jab, which is going to actually be a
:08:14. > :08:25.compulsory jab for young people, so that's deserves a round of applause
:08:26. > :08:28.in itself. Congratulations to the fantastic Harvey Parry, a very well
:08:29. > :08:47.deserved award. 38% of children who use the internet
:08:48. > :08:52.have suffered some form of cyberbullying. That's according to
:08:53. > :08:57.the NSPCC, who says the effects on victims can range from feelings of
:08:58. > :09:00.isolation to suicide. Well, children at Eastlands primary school in Rugby
:09:01. > :09:04.have earned their Young Citizen Award after embarking on a campaign
:09:05. > :09:08.to tackle the issue. They were nominated by Rugby Saturday
:09:09. > :09:10.Breakfast Rotary Club. Kevin Reide found out how the youngsters set
:09:11. > :09:31.about getting across their message to others. This play shows the
:09:32. > :09:35.traumatic effects of cyberbullying on an individual. I wanted to scream
:09:36. > :09:41.and cry but I'd did not want anyone to know. The children play the
:09:42. > :09:45.various roles in the courtroom as the case against else the
:09:46. > :09:48.defendant. He is charged with cyberbullying, but at the crunch
:09:49. > :10:02.moment, the real bully reveals himself. He didn't do it. Go on. It
:10:03. > :10:07.was me. I'd did it. Every time my watch it it still sends a shiver
:10:08. > :10:11.down my spine. It was scary to do it and it is still scary now. It shows
:10:12. > :10:15.you what the consequences of bullying and cyberbullying can do.
:10:16. > :10:21.The children have also devised this theatre production known as not such
:10:22. > :10:28.a sweet treat. It is currently touring other schools in the area.
:10:29. > :10:34.He keeps sending these? It could be anybody. After all, everybody hates
:10:35. > :10:42.you. Everybody. Everybody! It was like being at the theatre, and it is
:10:43. > :10:47.so important, internet safety, and nothing think the show displays a
:10:48. > :10:50.clear message. It says the smart on the internet, because whoever you
:10:51. > :10:58.are, there will be somebody wants to find out about you. Just amazing.
:10:59. > :11:03.Perfect. I want to see it again. The positive feedback we are getting is
:11:04. > :11:05.in relation that it is about children learning from other
:11:06. > :11:10.children rather than adult performers. The children can put
:11:11. > :11:30.their message across well to their peers. Then it is back to spreading
:11:31. > :11:35.the word about internet safety. Ten of the pupils are here with us today
:11:36. > :11:51.and I am going to talk to three of them. Lee Gregory who played the
:11:52. > :11:57.role of a pirate Jack in the theatre production Not Such A Sweet Tweet.
:11:58. > :12:01.And Siyanne Panchal who played the role of the witch in the theatre
:12:02. > :12:07.production. How bad would you say the problem of cyberbullying is in
:12:08. > :12:12.schools today? It can be really bad, because people do not really think
:12:13. > :12:14.as much that people in primary schools don't really use the
:12:15. > :12:25.internet as much, but they do, and they can get bullied him there, so
:12:26. > :12:31.it is really bad sometimes. `` gets bullied in there. What would you say
:12:32. > :12:36.is the message of the play? The message is basically saying that you
:12:37. > :12:40.have got to be careful because you do not know who is out there and
:12:41. > :12:45.what they want from you, because they could beat anyone, even if they
:12:46. > :12:51.say you are a friend. And you were the bad guy, as we saw. How do you
:12:52. > :12:57.think the film gets the message across about internet safety?
:12:58. > :13:00.Because we are children and it is aimed at children, they can relate
:13:01. > :13:07.to us quite well, and it also shows how well `` how far it can actually
:13:08. > :13:11.go and how serious the actions can be. So they can think twice before
:13:12. > :13:15.they act. Why do you think it is important to be smart with the
:13:16. > :13:19.internet? It is important to be safe because you could be talking to
:13:20. > :13:24.anyone and you could get in serious trouble. And you cannot see who you
:13:25. > :13:29.are communicating with. How did the idea actually come about? When we
:13:30. > :13:36.produced the film, there was a girl who had committed suicide because of
:13:37. > :13:42.cyberbullying, so it made us think, well, we have got to do something
:13:43. > :13:46.about this. Absolutely. That is very serious. Did you enjoy taking part
:13:47. > :13:53.in the film? Yes, definitely. It was very fun. We had never been to a
:13:54. > :13:58.court before. It is fantastic that you're tackling such a current
:13:59. > :14:19.issue, and I'd think everyone should give a big round of applause
:14:20. > :14:24.There are 45,000 young deaf people in the UK and our next award winners
:14:25. > :14:33.says that is who she is campaigning for. She wants to meet each and
:14:34. > :14:37.every one of them. 16`year`old Bethany is herself profoundly deaf
:14:38. > :14:49.and wears a cochlear implant. She was nominated for the award by
:14:50. > :14:55.Eggington Rotary club. I just love it. Although the music doesn't sound
:14:56. > :15:02.perfect, I just love to dance, it is what moves in me. Bethany's talent
:15:03. > :15:07.is remarkable. She may not be able to hear music perfectly, but that
:15:08. > :15:13.has never stopped her wrist suing her dream. People say deaf people
:15:14. > :15:21.cannot become pilots are trained drivers or anything, but I believe
:15:22. > :15:26.we can achieve anything we want. Bethany has juggled her schoolwork
:15:27. > :15:36.with being a national ambassador for deaf children. We created a
:15:37. > :15:40.competition called Storm And We Got A Lot Of Signatures To A Beautician
:15:41. > :15:58.And A Debate In Parliament, Which Was Very Successful. Her Headteacher
:15:59. > :16:04.Was so impressed, he put together a special programme for her. We got
:16:05. > :16:08.the community to come in and be involved, so it is not just what she
:16:09. > :16:15.does in the school, it is also the outside community. While Bethany is
:16:16. > :16:27.realising her dream, her ambition is to help many more teenagers do the
:16:28. > :16:33.same. Fantastic work. Bethany is here with us on stage today.
:16:34. > :16:42.Congratulations on this award. What does it mean to you? It means a lot
:16:43. > :16:50.to me. It is phenomenal. It means a lot to other deaf young people as
:16:51. > :16:54.well. Why are you campaigning for other deaf young people as well? I
:16:55. > :16:59.believe everyone deserves a good round of life and you deserve a good
:17:00. > :17:05.quality of life in school and at home. You are concerned about the
:17:06. > :17:14.cuts that could be coming up. Tell us a bit about that. The change of
:17:15. > :17:21.the disability living allowance and the grading of the personal
:17:22. > :17:26.independence payment did not have scoring is for a lot of deaf young
:17:27. > :17:34.people, it was more about can you communicate properly. Because I had
:17:35. > :17:43.already passed those, and I can talk like a normal person, I can come
:17:44. > :17:49.across not as a deaf person. So you have been on both sides of the fence
:17:50. > :17:54.stop do you think the bullying spurred you want to do what you were
:17:55. > :18:04.doing? Most definitely. Two different people. Previously, I
:18:05. > :18:10.wasn't the person I am now and my self`esteem was low. When I moved to
:18:11. > :18:14.minute school and I was with other people and fitted in well with them
:18:15. > :18:24.and was accepted by who I was, I felt differently. And you want to
:18:25. > :18:27.see that happen to other people. Ladies and gentlemen, we are very
:18:28. > :18:43.happy for her and we hope she goes on to do great things.
:18:44. > :18:54.The recipient of our next award is also a very remarkable young lady,
:18:55. > :19:01.Lucy. When she was a tiled, Lucy was sexually abused by a family friend.
:19:02. > :19:04.Now in her early 20s, she runs a charity in Dagenham which councils
:19:05. > :19:11.and supports young victims of sexual abuse. Jean MacKenzie takes up her
:19:12. > :19:14.story. There is more to this typical
:19:15. > :19:23.looking charity shop than meets the eye. Behind all the clothes and old
:19:24. > :19:31.books, Lucy and her mum run a counselling service for children who
:19:32. > :19:36.have been sexually abused. Shelley set up the service ten years ago,
:19:37. > :19:42.after learning her eight`year`old daughter had been repeatedly abused
:19:43. > :19:47.by a friend of their family. Mum used to say to me that it wasn't a
:19:48. > :19:51.dirty little secret, but you felt dirty and you felt the most
:19:52. > :19:55.unbelievable amount of shame, because nobody else could
:19:56. > :20:02.understand, because they hadn't experienced it. As she grew up, Lucy
:20:03. > :20:06.realised her nightmare experience could be valuable to the children
:20:07. > :20:11.her mother was helping and that she could support them through what she
:20:12. > :20:21.had found the hardest time. Coming out with it and getting over it was
:20:22. > :20:25.the worst part of it. When you could see what it was doing to everyone
:20:26. > :20:33.else around you, that was when it became very difficult to manage.
:20:34. > :20:37.Lucy decided to waive her right to anonymity and get involved with the
:20:38. > :20:42.charity. She now meets with the children to talk about what happened
:20:43. > :20:50.to her and to them. Shields up plans the therapy sessions and outings. It
:20:51. > :20:56.took me a long time to come to terms with it, but I would stand outside
:20:57. > :21:01.their and scream it at the top of my boys. I have nothing to be ashamed
:21:02. > :21:08.of. The man who did it to me should be ashamed. That is what I want to
:21:09. > :21:12.get through to the kids, that it does not rule your life. He
:21:13. > :21:19.eventually get to a place where you can cope with it. It is not just her
:21:20. > :21:24.wisdom that helps the children, it is also the vision of her now as a
:21:25. > :21:33.happy, healthy young woman. That young woman joins us now.
:21:34. > :21:39.Congratulations, Lucy. What does this award mean to you? It is very
:21:40. > :21:45.difficult to put into words what this means. I have done this for
:21:46. > :21:52.everyone who has been through what I have been through, so they feel one
:21:53. > :21:57.day be can speak up themselves. It has been a very difficult journey
:21:58. > :22:05.for you. Why is your work now so important? I think it is very
:22:06. > :22:09.important to work on the myths that come with sexual abuse. People think
:22:10. > :22:13.it is catching, people think if you live in a certain area, it will not
:22:14. > :22:18.happen or if you are from a certain culture, it won't happen, but that
:22:19. > :22:25.is not true. I just want to raise awareness. How difficult is it for
:22:26. > :22:30.young people to get over this kind of thing? It is incredibly
:22:31. > :22:35.difficult, because you feel guilty and ashamed. There is also emotional
:22:36. > :22:41.abuse that goes along with it and your self`esteem can hit the law. It
:22:42. > :22:48.is important people don't be like that, because they have nothing to
:22:49. > :23:04.be ashamed of. `` it is important people don't feel like that.
:23:05. > :23:10.Our final award goes to a group of students who successfully persuaded
:23:11. > :23:12.the Irish Prime Minister to set up a National Missing Persons Day, and
:23:13. > :23:17.have begun lobbying for a similar day Europe`wide. The Forget Me Not
:23:18. > :23:19.campaign, which has the support of Kate McCann, the mother of missing
:23:20. > :23:26.Madeleine, is the brainchild of students at Davis College in Mallow,
:23:27. > :23:28.County Cork. The group were nominated by the Rotary Club of
:23:29. > :23:46.Mallow. Jennie O'Sullivan found out about their campaign.
:23:47. > :23:53.Trevor Daley was 21. The year was 2000 and he never made it home.
:23:54. > :23:56.Forget me not to. Thanks to this group of teenagers, they are Forget
:23:57. > :24:03.Me Not campaign has made sure Ireland's missing people will not be
:24:04. > :24:11.forgotten. We use these silhouettes to get peoples attention and we use
:24:12. > :24:15.on stage our campaign. This is Mary, a six`year`old identical twin from
:24:16. > :24:21.Donegal. She is Ireland's youngest missing person. Our mother came down
:24:22. > :24:28.to the school and she said, she couldn't believe people down south
:24:29. > :24:31.cared so much about her little girl. We really wanted to do something
:24:32. > :24:38.profound for the families of the missing. They certainly have.
:24:39. > :24:44.Perhaps the most remarkable achievement is persuading the Prime
:24:45. > :24:53.Minister to earmark a National Missing Persons Day, which was held
:24:54. > :24:59.last year. That day was the most rewarding thing ever.
:25:00. > :25:03.Unforgettable. This is three long years for the students you see
:25:04. > :25:08.behind me and for years for the students who began the campaign, so
:25:09. > :25:13.it is a wonderful moment to see change happening from work we have
:25:14. > :25:20.done in the classroom. It has brought the classroom to life. And
:25:21. > :25:25.on stage, we have for the 22 students who have campaigned three
:25:26. > :25:33.years to have the SU of missing persons recognise. They are Chelsea,
:25:34. > :25:38.Adrian, Jackie and Janice. Josie, you approached ministers and the
:25:39. > :25:40.Prime Minister with your idea for a National Missing Persons Day in
:25:41. > :25:48.Ireland. Why is the issue is so important to you? We were aware of
:25:49. > :25:53.stories of missing people, such as Madeleine McCann, and we really
:25:54. > :25:56.wanted to help. We wanted to create funds for continued searches, to
:25:57. > :26:00.spread their message of change across Ireland and the rest of the
:26:01. > :26:07.world and insist that our government create a National Missing Persons
:26:08. > :26:14.Day. Fantastic. How did you get the message across? We developed a
:26:15. > :26:20.strategy for Ireland, a poster campaign runs through Ireland's
:26:21. > :26:26.ports and ferries, with contact details of missing persons or
:26:27. > :26:31.organisations. They will be running for a government so on. Tell us,
:26:32. > :26:39.Jackie, you discussed national change with Ireland's president
:26:40. > :26:45.Andrew spoke at Ireland's first attempt to. How did that feel? It
:26:46. > :26:50.has been a very empowering process, meeting with heads of government.
:26:51. > :26:54.Receiving this award is an honour, but her greatest satisfaction has
:26:55. > :27:01.come from meeting the families of the missing and knowing we have
:27:02. > :27:04.helped them. You hosted the second missing persons remembrance
:27:05. > :27:10.ceremony. How does a campaign help the families of missing people? The
:27:11. > :27:19.campaign has given a voice to the families of the missing. Our
:27:20. > :27:23.calendars for Forget Me Not where salt in Tesco nationwide and the
:27:24. > :27:29.funds raised were used to fund a search for the teenager in Galway.
:27:30. > :27:37.Amazing achievements on a large scale. Where do you go from here?
:27:38. > :27:40.We're very optimistic that a European National Missing Persons
:27:41. > :27:42.Day will be declared. Politicians and leaders in Ireland were
:27:43. > :27:47.impressed and have taken it on board, so now we're waiting for a
:27:48. > :28:14.phone call to hear of our future success. A fairly dynamic. Well
:28:15. > :28:18.done. APPLAUSE we have seen perhaps the
:28:19. > :28:21.people who will be running the country in the future.
:28:22. > :28:24.I would like you to join with me in giving them a huge round of applause
:28:25. > :28:27.we have seen perhaps the people who will be running the country in the
:28:28. > :28:29.future. I would like you to join with me in giving them a huge round
:28:30. > :28:31.of applause, while welcoming onstage the president, while welcoming
:28:32. > :28:33.onstage the president of Rotary Great Britain and of Rotary Great
:28:34. > :28:44.Britain and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland.
:28:45. > :28:55.A final word on you about the winners. `` from you. People are
:28:56. > :29:04.picked within their communities by people who know they are doing a
:29:05. > :29:08.terrific job. I would like to congratulate everyone of them,
:29:09. > :29:12.because each one of them has faced stiff competition to get where they
:29:13. > :29:23.are, and they have done fantastic jobs. Well done, everybody. Why is
:29:24. > :29:29.it important to recognise these general models? We complain so much
:29:30. > :29:33.about what the youngsters are doing, why don't we celebrate the
:29:34. > :29:38.things they are doing right instead of saying they are all on drugs?
:29:39. > :29:47.These are examples of what young people really are like. Definitely.
:29:48. > :29:56.And the future of tomorrow. A huge congratulations to all of this
:29:57. > :30:03.year's winners. IMSA that is it from me `` I am afraid that is it from me
:30:04. > :30:11.here in Birmingham. I am sure you will all agree this has been very
:30:12. > :30:13.aspirational and we have met some very incredible youngsters indeed.
:30:14. > :30:39.`` very inspirational. If you are in parts of northern
:30:40. > :30:46.England or Wales, threatening skies could bring a bit of rain at times.
:30:47. > :30:50.To the north of it, brighter skies. Strong winds and blustery showers in
:30:51. > :30:51.the North