Mayor appeals for youth opportunities support at Stephen Lawrence Memorial Lecture

Thursday, 09 September 2010  

This evening, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson detailed an unprecedented push on youth opportunities to combat the recession and nurture talented youngsters during his opening address at the Stephen Lawrence Memorial Lecture at the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The Mayor helped the charity set up in Stephen’s memory launch a new design competition for aspiring young architects. ‘Shape Your London’, which is funded by the London Development Agency, is targeted at 16-19 year olds and gives them the opportunity to design a building that will transform their local area.

The Mayor paid homage to the tireless charitable and campaigning work of Doreen Lawrence, OBE, and said the city will be forever ‘stained’ until the killers of Stephen Lawrence are brought to justice.

The Mayor also revealed his plans to meet with people from London’s most crime ridden neighbourhoods every month as part of a new series of ‘community meetings’ across London.

Mayor Boris Johnson said: “It shocks me to think that in a few days time, Stephen Lawrence should have been celebrating his 36^th birthday. The fact that the killers of this articulate young man who had a brilliant future ahead of him have never been brought to justice remains an indelible stain on our city.

“Stephen died in 1993.  At that time the stabbing of a young man on a London street was a relatively rare occurrence.  But in recent years it has become a sadly too familiar report on our morning news bulletins. I want to make it clear that in London I have no greater priority than stopping the horrific murders of our young men. “

Over the last two years the Mayor’s key projects have included targeted policing operations that have removed thousands of weapons off the streets, opening good schools to boost education in deprived areas, and offering thousands of apprenticeships to young people. The Mayor has also created a new prison wing (Heron) at Feltham Young Offenders Institute that dramatically changes the way young offenders are rehabilitated - one former inmate starts university this month. The Mayor’s Fund is on track to provide £16m to children most in need. To put it simply every project the Mayor is supporting at City Hall has to provide opportunities for young people.

However all of the solutions are long term and will need to be maintained against a backdrop of reducing resources. The Mayor has asked for volunteering help on a range of youth projects including his mentoring scheme that needs a thousand males to come forward to support vulnerable black boys. To date over 800 young people have benefited from GLA apprenticeship schemes and the aim is to further boost placements by getting employers across London on board.

The Mayor added: “I want to praise the tireless hard work of Doreen Lawrence who whilst seeking justice for Stephen has had the great vision to set up an inspiring educational Trust in his memory. I’m pleased to support their new design architect competition and hope we can help nurture some inspiring young future David Adjaye’s. Competitions like this highlight how talented are youngsters truly are.

“There is simply no nobler endeavour and there could be no greater tribute to the memory of Stephen Lawrence than for us all to work together to give London’s young people a better chance in life.”

The ‘Shape Your London’ competition is targeted at 16-19 year olds, who aspire to transform their local area and city for the benefit of the community. Participants will be asked to submit designs that change their local estates, streets, local park or new designs for homes. Prizes include bursaries for university and college fees, educational resources and work experience placements. Details of the competition are on the website www.stephenlawrence.org.uk.

Doreen Lawrence OBE, Director of the Stephen Lawrence Trust said:  “The Shape Your London design competition is an exciting opportunity for the Trust to continue discovering talented and aspiring architects and designers from across London, and providing them with a unique opportunity to engage with an industry they may otherwise have felt excluded from.”  

The Stephen Lawrence Trust hosts an annual Memorial Lecture to honour Stephen’s memory, his ambition to become an architect and to mark the anniversary of his birth.  To date the Trust has presented nine lectures, with speakers that have included HRH The Prince of Wales, Maya Angelou author Maya Angelou, Lord Richard Rogers, Michael Mansfield QC, Yasmin Alibhai Brown and architect David Adjaye.  

Ends

Notes to editors

1. Young people aged 16-19 who would like to take part in ‘Shape Your London’ or are interested in attending workshops should email info@architectureforeveryone.org.uk for further information. Prizes include bursaries for university and college fees, educational resources and work experience placements

2. The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust is a national educational charity committed to the advancement of social justice, the alleviation of poverty and the development of individual and community citizenship. Through creative methods outside of the academic framework, the Trust addresses the causes of urban decay; youth disaffection and educational underachievement; supporting young people develop pathways into sustainable education and employment.

3. The Stephen Lawrence Centre is supported by the London Development Agency as part of its investment in projects that give young Londoners the skills they need to succeed, encouraging them to raise their aspirations and develop their skills through opportunities to become involved in urban design and regeneration.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Press information is available from Rachelle Laurence on 020 7 983 4599 / 07771 814 478 or by emailing communitydesk@london.gov.uk