Leona Lewis and Plan B launch Academy to inspire Hackney teenagers

Leona Lewis singing to an audience of Hackney school students at the Hackney Empire last year. Photograph: BBC / Mark Allan

Complaints have been made about the marshes being closed off to locals for four weeks when global megastars Rihanna, Jay-Z and 100,000 festival revellers arrive for BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra’s biggest music gig, Hackney Weekend.

But the BBC is determined not to “be a spaceship from planet showbiz landing on the marshes and disappearing off” and launched their biggest community outreach programme last week to combat this.

In the three weeks running up to the celebration, the BBC is running the Academy, an inspirational careers event hoping to help up to 10,000 of Hackney’s 16-19 year olds.

Stars including rapper Dizzee Rascal, presenter Fearne Cotton and entrepreneur Levi Roots will work alongside local organisations to offer advice on succeeding in the music, film, gaming and fashion industries.

Academy ambassador Leona Lewis, the daughter of a social worker and a youth offenders’ officer, explained she is aware of problems facing the young people of Hackney and said: “My upbringing was positive but I feel lots of people don’t get that attention – often in this area you can feel a bit left out and isolated and it is important to feel included.

“I got to do extra classes outside school that really helped me in music and engaging them through music is so important, just giving the knowledge and the inspiration to know they can do it and be a part of it.”

Fellow ambassador Plan B, AKA Ben Drew, the rapper, actor and director who last year expressed he didn’t think he was a “good role model” shared his passion for the work the Academy will be doing, saying: “I haven’t felt ’til now I was at a place as a man to come into a young person’s life, I had a few insecurities and issues I had to work on before I started giving advice on how others should live their lives.

“But success changed my attitude, achieving what I wanted to achieve gave me confidence and made me love myself more. I never had something as big as this and they all love music and really respond to it.”

Business advice will be given by SBTV entrepreneur and no. 42 on the Sunday Times Young Rich List, Jamal Edwards, who said: “I recently moved to east London… and I’m really excited about stuff like this – I don’t think it’s been done on such a big scale before. I just hope loads of people come up with their own ideas, build on it and go out and do it.

“I want to inspire them and help take away the stigma of not being able to do it; teach them to start their own business so they’re not scared to do it.”

Actor, rapper, director and Hackney boy, Adam Deacon, explained his love for East London and the drive it can give to succeed, saying: “Hackney has always been the real London with the pie and mash shop on the corner and the community spirit but a bit of the underdog area too. Back in the day it didn’t seem like Hackney was one of those areas that would get noticed.

“But it’s not about changing the area, it is about giving the young people opportunities – I feel like you have always had to work that little bit harder but I like that. I hope the next generation from Hackney doesn’t see it like me – thinking they can’t make it in this area and instead say ‘Okay we’ve seen this person do it and actually there is a lot more hope’.”

Also helping is BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ, Charlie Sloth, who received help from a mentor when he was younger and wants to share his secret to success telling us: “I’ve always wanted to help the kids as much as I can. One day a week I mentor kids, you have to give back and work with the community.

“I want to inspire people who have the same hunger that I had when I was starting out, maybe they have to intern but you know they will be rewarded.”

And at a time when a million young people are unemployed nationally, the radio stations’ controller, Ben Cooper, is well aware of the impact the Olympics will have on East London, saying: “They will see people in the summer get their dream of winning a medal but how about their dream to do the job they want to do? I hope we inspire them to do that.”

He explained how closely the BBC has worked with Hackney Council and schools, and youth on the estates for the last 18 months, adding: “Everything we have built has been around what they want to see and we want to engage the hard to reach young people.”

Hackney Weekend takes place 23-24 June on Hackney Marshes.

The Academy is part of Take It On, Radio 1’s commitment to encourage young people to be inspired to get involved and ‘take on’ their future and runs from 1 – 22 June at the Hackney Picturehouse.

Next month BBC3’s new series ‘Back to Hackney’ will follow Leona, Plan B, rapper Labrinth and young people working together towards a musical performance.

For more about the Academy go here.