THE T&T PROJECT

The T&T Project was a one-off video project in collaboration with the NHS and Tower Hamlets Council.

“Coronavirus: Are young people to blame for the new rise in Covid-19 cases?”- This was the headline of a newspaper article written by Sky News reporter Philip Whiteside. Citing the warning of Dr Hans Kluge and the World Health Organisation, the article narrates how young people could be contributing to the spike in coronavirus across Europe.

The T&T Project was about young people leading the safety conversation in their community while promoting the NHS Test and Trace service. Using the grant secured from the Tower Hamlets Council via East End Community Foundation in December 2020, we worked with eight young people to create a spoken word video in a short film-style format, making it appealing and relatable to the target audience. We conducted research before the project, allowing young people to share their opinion on health campaigns that were widely made available by the NHS since the start of the pandemic. As a result, we knew they wanted to see something different, creative, light-hearted, but informational instead of a regular PSA, which some of them described as “scaremongering”.

Outside of our beneficiaries, we also put out a casting call for the project, attracting young people in the borough, including actors, dancers and poets. As an organisation, our focus has been on ensuring that despite being disproportionately affected by Covid-19, young people are given opportunities to thrive and showcase their talent to the world.

WHAT ONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS HAD TO SAY

Programmes like this could help me in my future as it allowed me to build my confidence in on-screen acting. It also helped me to have more of an understanding of the social issues in the society, express my views and meet new people with similar interests who I feel I would be able to collaborate with in the future”- Kelly,18, Cast.

The young people took complete control of the creative process, displaying commitment, enthusiasm and professionalism throughout the project.

CHECKOUT THE VIDEO BELOW