Minister comes to LIVE!

LIVE Editor Sian Anderson, 17, tells all about when Kevin Brennan, Minister For The Third Sector, came down to LIVE.

Kevin Brennan you hear me say! A year ago, aged 16, this name would have had as much meaning to me as a a piece of paper without a pen - none! Third Sector, Brennan means to me a inspiration to all around him.

''I've heard it said that young people are not interested in politics - they are. They have opinions.''

I used to be a strong believer in the fact that youths hate politics and anything remotely to do with MPs/PMs until I heard the above. Brennan made me realize that although I had no direct interest in politics, I still have opinions on decisions that the government make that affect me. On that note it becomes apparent that all youths need to be exposed to the true definition of politics and be taught that they're opinion does matter.

Being the Minister of the Third Sector means that Brennan deals with all social enterprises and non profitable organizations such as LIVE to give youths better opportunities.

I previously had a stereotype of MPs being adults in suits who make important decisions that effect the public in both good and bad ways. I didn't think they had lives outside of parliament as its hard to imagine MPs having time to do anything else. Meeting Brennan - a Scottish family man, has taught me otherwise. MPs have personalities and actually have a sense of humor. Brennen plays guitar and sings alongside three fellow MPs for a (very good) band called MP4 -No seriously! Not MP3 but MP4... Get it? He's also a fan of any sport that contains a ball and would pick Britney Spears over Paris Hilton because Britney actually has talent!

Realising that like Brennan, many politicians are people who still have lives and want to make a genuine difference was a great eye opener for me and a wave of shame sweeps over me when I remember the way I cringed earlier the morning of October 14th as I prepared to meet a member of parliament. Youths need people like Brennan to open there minds to the real world of politics and realize that they do matter more than they think.

Its all fair and well that Brennan came to LIVE so we could find out about him butat the same time, this MP, took the time out of his busy schedule to find out a bit about each and every single one of us. Now if thats not a caring politician then I'm
not sure what is!

LIVE meets IPC

Today, contributors from LIVE magazine went to Waterloo to the IPC Media blue fin building to take part in a conference to raise interest about youth mentoring in the media. During the meeting we talked about the benefits of mentoring and how to apply and also a bit about what will happen and how long you can mentor for. We also watched a short film about LIVE to make the employers of IPC more clued-up about the magazine and what we do. We did all this to raise awareness about the importance of mentoring and how it could help both mentors and young people. After the film me and the other contributors for LIVE were given a tour of the Nuts office, which I thought was quite interesting. We also got free Nuts t-shirts and a magazine. I will be wearing mine later!

Danielle Tan, 17

Minister Kevin Brennan to visit LIVE

The newly-appointed minister for the Third Sector and MP for Cardiff West, Kevin Brennan will be coming to LIVE HQ tomorrow morning. He’ll be visiting with a handful of Cabinet Office staff and members of the press who’ll be covering the visit, so he can find out about LIVE’s unique youth engagement and Livity’s ground-breaking socially responsible youth marketing. He’s going to be meeting LIVE contributors including our editor Sian Anderson, 18 and designer Jelani Da Costa-Best as well as current La Retrait work experience girls Yewandre, 15 and Cherona, 15 and a roll-call of LIVE contributors past and present. We’ll update you on this special visit tomorrow!

Marcel Mbeka

DIESEL CHOOSES LIVE FUTURES AND THE LIVITY TRUST TO SUPPORT YOUNG TALENT

Diesel, the iconic Italian denim brand and fashion house, is celebrating 30 years of creativity next month and to mark the occasion has chosen to launch a long-term partnership with our not-for-profit youth engagement social enterprise LIVE Futures and our new charity arm, The Livity Trust.

The partnership will build on LIVE's on-going youth-training relationship with Diesel's pioneering Diesel:U:Music Radio project to support young talent in its rawest form through all aspects of LIVE Futures' and The Livity Trust's innovative work improving the lives of young people in London and beyond.

Diesel are donating 100% of proceeds from the London leg of its xXx Birthday Party at new super-club matter on October 11 and an amazing modern music memorabilia eBay auction throughout October. Diesel have also commissioned LIVE's trainee writers, illustrators and designers to produce a special one-off xXx Ray Eyes fanzine commemorating all aspects of their birthday celebrations.

The proceeds from the auction and party will help us to continue our work with young people, giving them opportunities to improve their lives. This means funding for LIVE Magazine, our quarterly publication produced entirely by young people who receive training, mentoring, accreditation and job coaching. Some of the proceeds will also go to The Livity Trust, a new charitable trust fund set up to pay for apprenticeships and make small grants for disadvantaged and 'at risk' young people to advance their education or career.

Diesel and LIVE have asked famous names from the international music scene to donate a personal, 'pre-loved item that tells a story' to raise funds for the education and inspiration of disadvantaged young people in London. Auction items, including The Ting Tings' drumsticks, Estelle's sunglasses, Kasabian's tambourines and original drawings for a Goldfrapp video, will be exhibited at Diesel's flagship store in Covent Garden through September and October and simultaneously auctioned at www.dieselxxxauction.com.
Also in the auction will be the first ever Fiat 500 by Diesel a stylish new car design that will be causing a storm when they hit the road in Spring 2009.

The London leg of Diesel's 17 city global party, The Creative Experiment, will welcome 3,000 guests to one of the capital's most
exciting new venues matter, heralded as the most technologically advanced clubs in the UK. Among the 30 confirmed performers are Mark Ronson, Mystery Jets, The View and Patrick Wolf. www.diesel.com/xxx

During the lead up to the big event, the hugely successful Diesel:U:Music Radio station has been welcomed back until October 12th at www.dieselumusicradio.com and will feature original programming from journalists, bloggers and broadcasters, including I-D, Popjustice, Kerrang, The Guardian and the young journalists from LIVE Magazine. A brand new fanzine supporting the London event has also been produced by a dedicated group of young trainee journalists and designers from LIVE who have been mentored by established magazine professionals.

Andy Griffiths, Head Of Communication at Diesel UK, commented: "Diesel is 100% committed to supporting a new generation of talent and LIVE Futures is a superb example of how a project engages with young people through fashion, art, music and media. The Brixton team is incredibly effective at raising the sights of the young people they work with, engaging them in positive activities and then moving them into employment, education or apprenticeships. For these reasons we want to support their work."

Gavin Weale, Director of LIVE Futures, added: "We're thrilled to have been selected by such a prestigious brand. The LIVE Futures team and all of our young people look forward to reaping the benefits and rewards of Diesel's generosity!'.

For more information contact paola@livity.co.uk