A YOUTH worker has praised the young people he worked with on a pioneering project which he describes as a “catalyst for change.”

Kevin Curran, director of Inspired Youth, worked with youngsters who had been in care to create a music video written, directed and performed by them.

The video has since received national recognition from charities such as the NSPCC and Fosterline and has now earned him a Community Pride nomination in the Community Project category.

But Kevin, who founded Inspired Youth seven and a half years ago, says that this nomination recognises the teenagers' work, rather than his own.

“This isn’t a nomination for me, this is for the young people,” he said.

“Some of them come out of quite difficult circumstances, some feel let down by the system and some feel that the system has helped them to find a new life. This gave them the opportunity to put their views out there.”

Through the help of The Springboard Project, a charity helping young people to achieve their potential, Inspired Youth created the Music4Care project working over three months to create a unique music video.

Taking part in workshops to discuss their experiences in care, the youngsters worked with Kevin to write lyrics, create characters and to then film the video.

Kevin said that he hopes the video will also help foster parents to understand what foster children go through.

He said: “The project has longer term impacts and it has helped us to work with people like Fosterline to get the message out there.

“It’s a catalyst for change really and it’s an amazing piece of work that they have done.”

Phil Curran who nominated his younger brother said that he found Kevin’s hard work inspiring.

He said: “Kev may be my little brother but he amazes me with the work he does with the young people in the city with such passion and zest.”

Award winning Inspired Youth works with young people on the issues they are at the heart of, creating memorable media pieces with the help of industry experts.

The Community Pride awards are run by The Press and City of York Council and sponsored by Benenden Health.

For more information or to make a nomination go to yorkpress.co.uk/pride