:00:08. > :00:14.I'm Ellie Crisell and I'm delighted to be here
:00:15. > :00:16.in Manchester to celebrate the Rotary Young
:00:17. > :00:23.This year is the 10th anniversary of the Awards to celebrate
:00:24. > :00:25.the achievements of a very special group of young people.
:00:26. > :00:28.I presented the awards when they first began back in 2007.
:00:29. > :00:33.Since then, hundreds of young people have been recognised
:00:34. > :00:37.Each year, Rotary Clubs across Britain and Ireland nominate
:00:38. > :00:49.The eventual winners for 2017 are with us me on stage,
:00:50. > :00:51.so let's find out more about this year's award winners.
:00:52. > :00:53.Our first award goes to teenager Abbey Booker.
:00:54. > :00:56.Abbey is in care but works tirelessly and selflessly to ensure
:00:57. > :00:59.other children have the best experience that they can.
:01:00. > :01:01.She spends her time volunteering, helping out with a number
:01:02. > :01:04.of schemes, and tries to change the way adults deal with other
:01:05. > :01:10.She was nominated for the award by the Rotary Clubs of Doncaster
:01:11. > :01:31.I remember the first few years was a major struggle for me
:01:32. > :01:34.emotionally, because I had so many different people and so many things
:01:35. > :01:44.I knew I had my own opinions on things, but I was never
:01:45. > :01:48.When I found the courage to speak out myself,
:01:49. > :01:56.I now know that I can say this, so I'm going to let other children
:01:57. > :02:09.Abbey is one in a million to be honest with you.
:02:10. > :02:12.She's a great advocate for young people.
:02:13. > :02:17.She very much helps shape the service the way the independent
:02:18. > :02:21.For me, before I came into care, I didn't really have a childhood.
:02:22. > :02:27.I basically raised my two young brothers.
:02:28. > :02:30.I was, sort of, given all the family's dilemmas and problems,
:02:31. > :02:35.I did things that a normal 13-year-old should do
:02:36. > :02:38.instead of staying at home and cooking meals.
:02:39. > :02:40.It was difficult, but at the same time, easy.
:02:41. > :02:51.I don't think I will ever stop doing what I'm doing, never, ever stop.
:02:52. > :02:55.For me, I'm going to take it further and make sure that every child
:02:56. > :03:00.in care has a voice and every child is loving being in care.
:03:01. > :03:09.Congratulations on your Young Citizen Award.
:03:10. > :03:16.It's really, it's all a whirlwind really.
:03:17. > :03:20.I never really expected to be here with these amazing people too.
:03:21. > :03:23.But like I've always said, this award is never really for me.
:03:24. > :03:26.It's on behalf of all the children that work alongside me,
:03:27. > :03:28.the people that work with me as well.
:03:29. > :03:30.And all the different organisations that I help.
:03:31. > :03:36.What was it about your experience in care that made you want to reach
:03:37. > :03:43.Well, I was never really listened to.
:03:44. > :03:45.I know how frustrating it is and annoying when you know
:03:46. > :03:48.you have something to say but you just can't say it,
:03:49. > :03:50.because people sort of believe that you're not old enough
:03:51. > :03:53.or you don't know how to say it or you don't
:03:54. > :03:57.For me, I thought, I needed to stop and children needed to have that
:03:58. > :03:59.courage and confidence to come forward themselves.
:04:00. > :04:01.So I sort of became a voice for young people.
:04:02. > :04:04.Obviously, it must be quite challenging being in care,
:04:05. > :04:08.I'd imagine it's not the easiest situation for children.
:04:09. > :04:22.You said you want to make it a happy experience for children.
:04:23. > :04:26.How do you think you can achieve that practically?
:04:27. > :04:28.By encouraging them to come alongside myself an the other
:04:29. > :04:30.children I work with to some of the presentations
:04:31. > :04:33.that we do, that show the fun and the work we do.
:04:34. > :04:36.And just talking to kids and explaining my story and how it's
:04:37. > :04:40.And just getting them engaged and involved in different activities
:04:41. > :04:42.and showing them the positive side, instead of the negative
:04:43. > :04:47.I'm sure you will go on to do more great work.
:04:48. > :05:30.What generally happens on Tuesday evening is local kids coming to
:05:31. > :05:35.learn how to cope. We use kids as young as seven to come in and get
:05:36. > :05:40.them involved, not just being users of technology but creators of
:05:41. > :05:52.technology. I'm 18 years old and I'm a legal research student. I'm the
:05:53. > :05:55.director of the company. I have a passion for technology an eye enjoys
:05:56. > :05:59.sharing that with the kids. I think it's a great opportunity to be able
:06:00. > :06:03.to show them they cannot just use technology but learn how to build
:06:04. > :06:09.things to control technology as well. These kids are very much my
:06:10. > :06:12.generation. People on Facebook and Twitter who were just using you
:06:13. > :06:16.Tube. But they're not, they understand somebody's build it and
:06:17. > :06:19.they understand if they put a lot of work in and understand the
:06:20. > :06:25.technology, they can build the next Facebook, Google, twitter and do
:06:26. > :06:30.business online. I don't do it for the recognition. I never did it to
:06:31. > :06:33.receive trophies or awards, it's just an added bonus. It's
:06:34. > :06:36.encouraging for me to go on and do other things afterwards, a good
:06:37. > :06:42.motivator. It's great to be able to get involved in something that the
:06:43. > :06:45.kids enjoy it, enjoy doing, and to be able to share the passion of
:06:46. > :06:48.technology I have with other people. Especially when the kids get the
:06:49. > :07:06.opportunity to go and better things. How do you feel? I'm honoured to
:07:07. > :07:10.receive the award. As I said of ET, I don't do it for the awards
:07:11. > :07:16.recognition. It's nice to get the awards and great to be on stage so
:07:17. > :07:25.many amazing young people. It's great. It's good for the kids, as
:07:26. > :07:31.well. Good for the kids younger than me to see hardware compassion can
:07:32. > :07:35.lead to great things. Why coding? That's a good question. I suppose
:07:36. > :07:39.it's just because I think it's the future. Everyone has a phone in
:07:40. > :07:43.their pocket, everyone has a laptop or an iPad and I think it's
:07:44. > :07:46.important we don't just become users of the technology but builders and
:07:47. > :07:50.creators of technology. I think it offers so many opportunities for
:07:51. > :07:53.young people and I think they will have a great future if they can
:07:54. > :07:58.understand not how to use about how to build them. Any future Bill
:07:59. > :08:04.Gates' among your lot? I bet they pick it up quickly, quicker than I
:08:05. > :08:08.would! It's incredible. Some kids come in and can code websites or
:08:09. > :08:13.build apps but cannot tie their own shoelaces! You're coming in and
:08:14. > :08:20.you're going, they might be the next Bill Gates, but they will still need
:08:21. > :08:23.their mums and dads with them! It's the future, and you are part of it.
:08:24. > :08:42.Congratulations. Well done. APPLAUSE Our next winner
:08:43. > :08:43.is Mohamed Khalil. He was forced to flee the country
:08:44. > :08:48.with his family when he was 10, having been shot during an attack
:08:49. > :08:50.on his school. He watched his friends die and had
:08:51. > :08:53.to play dead to survive. Having moved to England, Mohamed
:08:54. > :08:56.started going to Leeds City Academy. He was nominated by
:08:57. > :08:58.the Rotary Club of Leeds. Mohammed is a 16-year-old,
:08:59. > :09:01.growing up in Leeds, getting ready for his GCSE
:09:02. > :09:05.in foot technology. Nothing remarkable about that,
:09:06. > :09:09.but how he got here, well, Mohammed was growing up in Syria,
:09:10. > :09:12.when his school was attacked. He saw his friends being killed
:09:13. > :09:18.and was himself shot in the leg. To survive, he pretended to be dead
:09:19. > :09:22.until the attackers had gone. I cry when I sleep because I can
:09:23. > :09:24.remember my friends. In my head, it's not
:09:25. > :09:30.going from my head. Like, I close the room,
:09:31. > :09:33.I sit in and I cry because every time I think about the bad things
:09:34. > :09:37.that happened to me. Mohammed's family fled Syria
:09:38. > :09:42.and eventually made a home in Leeds. His mum has had surgery
:09:43. > :09:45.for cancer and his dad So Mohammed looks after them both
:09:46. > :09:50.and helps support the family with money that he makes
:09:51. > :09:54.from working in a restaurant. His teachers are astonished
:09:55. > :09:58.at the progress Mohammed has made. In school, as at home,
:09:59. > :10:01.he's made it his job to help others. His story is what makes him
:10:02. > :10:08.want to change things. Seeing the war at such a young age,
:10:09. > :10:14.he speaks about helping people that have been through that,
:10:15. > :10:17.that aren't managing as well as him. Mohammed plans to dedicate
:10:18. > :10:19.the the rest of his life Sometimes I feel like I don't need
:10:20. > :10:25.a lot of money, I want to help, if I have money I want to give it
:10:26. > :10:31.to other people. If you help children,
:10:32. > :10:37.you feel like happy. Congratulations, how do
:10:38. > :10:42.you feel to be here? You went through some
:10:43. > :10:50.terrible things in Syria. How do you think they changed you as
:10:51. > :10:53.a person and made you who you are? Made me more stronger and confident
:10:54. > :10:56.and to help other people Now you work a lot here,
:10:57. > :11:03.to look after your family. You've had some problems
:11:04. > :11:10.with things here as well. My mum got sick, she had operation
:11:11. > :11:14.of cancer and I was very worried for her because my mum is just
:11:15. > :11:18.all the thing I have in my whole When she got sick,
:11:19. > :11:24.I was like very worried. I went shopping for her to help her
:11:25. > :11:27.more because I'm the big and I want to help her shopping,
:11:28. > :11:30.bring my brother from the school So, a difficult time
:11:31. > :11:39.for you and you work in a restaurant as well as keeping up
:11:40. > :11:41.with your school work. Yeah, I was work in the restaurant
:11:42. > :11:45.to help more to make more money to give to my dad and my family
:11:46. > :11:48.to bring more stuff. So how does it feel now to be given
:11:49. > :11:51.this award and for everybody to be saying well done,
:11:52. > :11:53.we recognise how I feel like very excited
:11:54. > :11:59.because people read my story I want to thank
:12:00. > :12:03.everyone who is here. For the second year,
:12:04. > :12:26.we're presenting the Rotary Young Citizen Wheelchair Sport Award,
:12:27. > :12:28.sponsored by the British wheelchair The award goes to
:12:29. > :12:32.15-year-old Kare Adenagan. Kare, who was born with diplegic
:12:33. > :12:39.cerebral palsy, was inspired by the London 2012 Paralympics
:12:40. > :12:42.to take up wheelchair racing. Four short years later, she brought
:12:43. > :12:45.home three medals from Rio. She now juggles the life
:12:46. > :12:47.of a full-time athlete Pushing hard in every training
:12:48. > :12:56.session to be the best. But fast times on the track
:12:57. > :12:59.aren't the only target Maths and French revision
:13:00. > :13:05.are just as important I go school for about 8,
:13:06. > :13:17.I go to school for about 8am, Then an hour at home
:13:18. > :13:20.and onto the track. After the track session,
:13:21. > :13:24.I have home work as well. It's busy, but I know it
:13:25. > :13:27.will all be worth it in July. Kare was born with
:13:28. > :13:32.cerebral palsy diplegia. She took up wheelchair racing
:13:33. > :13:42.after watching London 2012. Four years later, she came home
:13:43. > :13:45.from Rio with a silver and two bronze medals,
:13:46. > :13:47.to the delight of fellow I was so proud and I just,
:13:48. > :13:51.I almost cried, well I did cry. My family gathered in front
:13:52. > :13:54.of the TV about half an hour before the race,
:13:55. > :13:56.waiting to see her. Their support will be
:13:57. > :14:01.important this year. This new chair has cost
:14:02. > :14:14.her more than ?4,000. The World Para-athletics
:14:15. > :14:15.Championships in London Expectations are high,
:14:16. > :14:19.but so is the bevel of competition. I've been working quite hard
:14:20. > :14:23.and been training hard. I just hope that I can get a podium
:14:24. > :14:26.finish, despite GCSEs I just want to be there
:14:27. > :14:31.in front of the home crowd. But Kare is determined
:14:32. > :14:33.that she will inspire the next generation,
:14:34. > :14:34.as she was inspired That was Kare Adenagan -
:14:35. > :14:42.winner of the Rotary Young Citizen She can't be here today,
:14:43. > :14:50.as she's at a family birthday party. Our next award goes
:14:51. > :15:03.to 14-year-old Aidan Jackson. Aidan's raised over ?16,000
:15:04. > :15:08.for charity in just two years. He was diagnosed with Asperger's
:15:09. > :15:12.syndrome in 2011, so sometimes struggles with everyday situations,
:15:13. > :15:14.making his fundraising efforts Aidan was nominated
:15:15. > :15:20.by the Rotary Club of Widnes. Aidan and his mum Caroline
:15:21. > :15:29.flick through a scrapbook of his fundraising exploits,
:15:30. > :15:34.at their home in Widnes. He started on a small scale,
:15:35. > :15:38.but the death in 2014 of his close friend Olivia Alice Walker,
:15:39. > :15:41.at the age of just 15, I wanted to help out her family
:15:42. > :15:49.as much as possible and when they wanted to set up
:15:50. > :15:52.a charity, it was like the main, Last August, Aidan filled
:15:53. > :15:58.a sports stadium with 10,500 Why is it so important
:15:59. > :16:03.to you that you do this, Even if it's just one person,
:16:04. > :16:09.that one person it's going to make And all this despite the problems
:16:10. > :16:16.caused by his Asperger's. But when it comes to fundraising,
:16:17. > :16:23.he's just a different person. As well as Asperger's,
:16:24. > :16:27.Aidan has a condition which causes him to walk
:16:28. > :16:29.on his toes. He may need surgery,
:16:30. > :16:39.which would keep him in plaster for six weeks,
:16:40. > :16:42.and in splits for a year. I have to just try and deal with it,
:16:43. > :16:45.at my own pace, just Aidan's raised more
:16:46. > :16:49.than ?16,000 in just two years. He'll find out next week if he does
:16:50. > :16:53.need an operation or not. It's just brilliant
:16:54. > :17:02.to receive this award. I mean, it's just showing that
:17:03. > :17:05.there's not always just bad stories It's showing that there is a lot
:17:06. > :17:12.of young people doing good things, showing that it's just brilliant
:17:13. > :17:15.what people can do when they It's lovely to have good
:17:16. > :17:20.news about young people. Tell us about Asperger's,
:17:21. > :17:22.what difficulties have Mainly social and just trying
:17:23. > :17:30.to get around really. As a child, I struggled with making
:17:31. > :17:37.friends and trying to strike up conversations with people,
:17:38. > :17:39.but during my fundraising, it's been a lot easier
:17:40. > :17:41.to actually get to know people, giving people topics
:17:42. > :17:43.to talk about and just What made you think one day,
:17:44. > :17:51.you know what, I'm going Mainly to keep my friend
:17:52. > :17:56.Olivia's memory alive and to help out other people,
:17:57. > :17:59.making sure that what happened to her doesn't
:18:00. > :18:01.happen to anyone else. Our next award winner
:18:02. > :18:18.is 18-year-old Molly Comish, she was determined to act
:18:19. > :18:21.after seeing so many homeless people living and sleeping
:18:22. > :18:23.on the streets of Ireland. She was nominated by the Rotary Club
:18:24. > :18:26.of Bray for her idea of giving packs of essential items to homeless
:18:27. > :18:29.people in her hometown. I was walking around Dublin
:18:30. > :18:40.in December of 2015, and I just saw the amount
:18:41. > :18:43.of homeless people and I decided I'm 18 years old and I live
:18:44. > :18:56.in County Wicklow Ireland. So, I thought maybe I could put
:18:57. > :19:03.together a pack of things that we take for granted to keep us
:19:04. > :19:07.clean, that homeless people might So I just decided to
:19:08. > :19:19.put it in a rucksack There's everything from scarves
:19:20. > :19:26.to gloves, to socks, to ear buds, to deodrant,
:19:27. > :19:27.deoderant, toothpaste, pretty much everything we all take
:19:28. > :19:33.for granted but need. Everyone's smiling and thanking me
:19:34. > :19:36.when they receiving them... Hi guys, I'm going to leave
:19:37. > :19:39.some stuff here for you. That's just an amazing
:19:40. > :19:41.feeling in itself. People are just really
:19:42. > :19:43.happy to receive them, It makes me really sad that people
:19:44. > :19:51.do have to live that way. But I'm trying my best to help them,
:19:52. > :19:54.make it a little bit easier. I never in my wildest dream thought
:19:55. > :20:03.that I would have won it. It's such a simple idea,
:20:04. > :20:25.but such a lovely thought. What gave you the idea to come up
:20:26. > :20:28.with these dignity packs? I just saw so many homeless
:20:29. > :20:31.people on the streets, I didn't tell my mum
:20:32. > :20:40.or dad or no-one. Then they caught me
:20:41. > :20:42.bringing in 30 wet wipes and they were like,
:20:43. > :20:46."What's going on? Stop putting tooth brushes
:20:47. > :20:48.on the shopping list! What's the reaction from people
:20:49. > :20:56.when you pass them over? It's a good feeling
:20:57. > :21:03.when you put them out. We have our stage
:21:04. > :21:06.one charity status. We want to expand nationwide
:21:07. > :21:14.and maybe to the UK as well, We would love to get in contact
:21:15. > :21:19.with charities and maybe other Rotary groups,
:21:20. > :21:20.because they are You had some attention from people
:21:21. > :21:25.like the Irish Health Minister. Are you surprised by how
:21:26. > :21:29.much attention it's got? I thought it would be a little thing
:21:30. > :21:34.that no-one would know about. To be up here now in front
:21:35. > :21:36.of everybody is incredible. It started off as a small seed
:21:37. > :21:39.and now it's a big tree. Our final Award goes
:21:40. > :21:51.to sisters Amber They founded the mental health
:21:52. > :22:00.charity, Invictus Trust, in 2011, after their 18-year-old brother
:22:01. > :22:02.killed himself in a psychiatric They were nominated
:22:03. > :22:06.by the Rotary Club of Truro, Our brother was a party animal,
:22:07. > :22:14.life and soul of the party. He was just like
:22:15. > :22:21.the greatest person. In 2010, Ben was just 18
:22:22. > :22:24.when he took his own life in an adult psychiatric
:22:25. > :22:28.unit in Cornwall. Within a few hours of losing Ben,
:22:29. > :22:33.we were in disbelief. Ben shouldn't have been able
:22:34. > :22:38.to take his own life His sisters wanted to keep
:22:39. > :22:46.Ben's legacy alive. So they set up their own charity,
:22:47. > :22:49.the Invictus Trust, as a way to support other teenagers
:22:50. > :22:51.with mental health problems. After Ben had passed away,
:22:52. > :22:54.not very long after, my mum sat down with us,
:22:55. > :22:58.my sisters and my dad and just said that she felt really strongly
:22:59. > :23:01.that we had to change the services, really didn't want to be
:23:02. > :23:04.a family that became bitter, because we felt that Ben had
:23:05. > :23:06.been let down. We needed to change
:23:07. > :23:08.what was available for teenagers in Cornwall and what support
:23:09. > :23:10.and services could be enhanced After three years of campaigning
:23:11. > :23:18.for a mental health unit for young people in Cornwall,
:23:19. > :23:21.it was recently announced that the NHS will be building
:23:22. > :23:23.the first ever specialist unit It's been seven years now that we've
:23:24. > :23:30.been running the charity, We finally have confirmation that
:23:31. > :23:40.a unit will be built How do you feel to be
:23:41. > :23:51.getting this award? We're overwhelmed at
:23:52. > :23:55.receiving an award. We didn't think that this would get
:23:56. > :23:57.recognised in this way. We're just really proud
:23:58. > :24:00.of what Invictus has achieved. How do you feel, tell me,
:24:01. > :24:07.about how your brother was let down by the existing services in Cornwall
:24:08. > :24:10.at the time? I think as a family,
:24:11. > :24:16.it was really devastating. Ben was 18, but only just,
:24:17. > :24:19.and went into an adult unit. We felt that the care
:24:20. > :24:20.didn't suit him. It didn't understand
:24:21. > :24:24.him as a young person. But then increasingly
:24:25. > :24:30.through our work, we realise had he been under 18,
:24:31. > :24:33.he wouldn't have been seen in the county, as we have no mental
:24:34. > :24:41.health beds for young people. That became what we
:24:42. > :24:43.were lorying for, that there should be
:24:44. > :24:45.a young person's unit. We have the news
:24:46. > :24:49.that it will be built. This is a unit uniquely
:24:50. > :24:51.18 to 25-year-olds, it Currently it's ?5 million put aside
:24:52. > :24:58.to start the build next year. It's for under 18s, because there's
:24:59. > :25:00.no under 18 provision What we're really lobbying
:25:01. > :25:09.for is to go 13 to 25. Our view is that Ben didn't just
:25:10. > :25:13.turn into an adult from going to bed at 17 and waking up at 18
:25:14. > :25:15.the next day. Which of us do, you hit
:25:16. > :25:18.the nail on the head. Do you think your brother
:25:19. > :25:21.would be proud of the work Invictus is completely
:25:22. > :25:26.in his memory. It's named after his tattoos
:25:27. > :25:29.and we use the anchor logo. It's a brand, young people
:25:30. > :25:33.would want to identify with. We go into a lot of schools
:25:34. > :25:41.and do talks and challenge and break down the stigma,
:25:42. > :25:50.make everybody aware that everyone has mental health it just depends
:25:51. > :25:59.where you are on the spectrum With eare campaigning to make sure
:26:00. > :26:03.this build is innovative and Cornish Thank you very much
:26:04. > :26:09.for talking to us. And joining me now is the president
:26:10. > :26:13.of Rotary International Eve Conway, who started
:26:14. > :26:16.the Rotary Young Citizen Awards We still look as young
:26:17. > :26:28.as we did then. What about the stories that
:26:29. > :26:31.you've heard here today? That's why the awards
:26:32. > :26:36.were started ten years ago, to show case positive
:26:37. > :26:38.young role models like the people we have here today and overcome
:26:39. > :26:41.negative stereotypes. Because then as now,
:26:42. > :26:43.the headlines are so often dominated We know that the majority of young
:26:44. > :26:50.people aren't like that. With Rotary, we have so many
:26:51. > :26:57.projects, Young Citizen Awards, with our inspirational youngsters
:26:58. > :27:01.today, youth leadership awards, young musician, we know that young
:27:02. > :27:04.people are our futures. Eve Conway, thank
:27:05. > :27:15.you for joining us. So congratulations to all
:27:16. > :27:18.this year's winners, who were nominated by Rotary Clubs
:27:19. > :27:24.across Britain and Ireland. I'm sure you'll agree we've met some
:27:25. > :27:27.very impressive youngsters. We've been moved and I'm sure
:27:28. > :27:29.we've all been inspired. Thank you very much
:27:30. > :27:34.for joining us this year.