Children, young people and their families joined Newham Council at events to celebrate the achievements, talent and creativity of the borough’s young residents.
They marked the conclusion of Newham’s Year of the Young Person, which the council has partnered with the Recorder on.
The first event – Create and Celebrate - took place at Stratford Youth Zone on March 11.
The evening included activities and a talent showcase hosted by Mustafa Mohammed, 26, Laiba Waseem, 17 and Osahon Alex-Eguavoen, 16.
Osahon told the audience: “There are lots of people here tonight from different areas but tonight we are all Newham”, which generated cheers and a round of applause.
The showcase, which kicked off with an opening speech by Newham mayor Rokhsana Fiaz, saw talent from all over the borough celebrated and recognised.
The evening saw a range of acts, including singing duets and one 12-year-old boy performing What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong and Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley on the piano.
Osahon also took over the stage to showcase his rapping skills.
The show also included several dance acts, including group IMD Legion.
Laiba took a short break from hosting to read a poem dedicated to a council mental health support service.
She thanked the service for helping her improve her confidence and told the audience: “My poem couldn’t do enough justice to this service. The reason I can stand in front of you today is because of a service called Head Start.”
Councillor Carleene Lee-Phakoe, cabinet member for Brighter Futures, also addressed the audience to express her pride and appreciation of all the children and young people involved in the event.
On Friday, March 18, a 'red carpet' event took place at Stratford East Picture House to celebrate and recognise the achievements of the children, young people and families who took part in two of the Year of the Young Person projects – Youngest in Charge and 21 in 21.
The event included the screening of films created as part of these two projects and ended with an awards ceremony and performances by children and young people.
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