Ocean Youth Radio, a youth-led station in Paignton, has been awarded £187,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund to set up it’s own premises and buy a music and radio mobile vehicle to deliver a raft of early intervention sessions across the Bay over 3 years.
Sound Communities CIC, who run the project, lead in the use of creative digital radio and music making to engage the most vulnerable young people in Torbay living in the most challenging circumstances.
Ocean Youth Radio is launching a production office and workshop space at 1-5 Winner Street on October 25th 2-8pm. This new workshop space will help the station provide music and radio making opportunities including expanding employment pathways for local youngsters through apprenticeships, work experience and accreditation. Sound Communities CIC soon hope to raise enough funds to install a full working broadcast studio at the premises too.
The station brings young people together to make music and radio, building friendships and a creative and engaging social action community. Ocean Youth travels around the Bay running music and radio workshops and broadcasts at nearly every youth club in the bay.
The new bus will create a really inviting, specialist and intimate environment for creativity and expression helping the project to reach and engage even more young people on their own patch. Shows vary from specialist music, chat and quizzes to sharing experiences on topics such as domestic abuse, anxiety, sexual abuse, bullying, addiction, and stress.
“Our participants become more connected, confident, aspiring, skilled and more able to ask for help when they need it. Our project is becoming a real game-changer for a lot of young people who really need confidence, inspiration, aspirations and investment in Torbay. We are hoping that our new premises and bus will also help to get the community on board more as the impact of our work on young people becomes much more visible. It’s also a great way to help celebrate our young people’s achievements. Already local businesses such as Carpetright are contributing to the workshop space, enabling us to spend more of our funding on the work with the young people themselves.“ Kate Rudman, Director of Sound Communities CIC.
Ocean Youth has just been nominated for Best Digital Station at the Community Radio Awards. One of our presenters, Lexi Weller, recently won the new national Young Audio Awards at BBC Radio Theatre and two others were nominated (Ricardo Lewis and Jack Thompson).
Ocean Youth is part of the exciting new Imagine This partnership in Torbay. Other funders supporting Ocean Youth Radio are: Arts Council England, Youth Music, Sanctuary Housing, Devon Community Foundation, Torbay Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, BBC Children In Need.
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