THE experiences of young York people who have left care are to be captured on film as part of York Mediale.

The new media arts festival is collaborating with local social campaigning organisation Inspired Youth in a project to bring the youngsters’ personal experiences to life.

The One Percent is the working title of the project, which will see filmmaker Kev Curran and York-based Hip Hop artist Kritikal Powers encourage young people to share and express their experiences through film and music, said a spokesman.

“They will bring together a group of ten young people from the city, who have recently left care, or who are currently moving towards independent living, to create spoken word performances on film, bringing their personal experiences to life.

“The results of the project will be showcased for the first time during York Mediale in the autumn, alongside a debate about what more can be done both nationally and locally to support young people more effectively during times of big life change.”

He said the One Per Cent referred to a national statistic that about one per cent of children were looked after by the care system, which equated in York to about 200 children and young people in care.

“This one percent of children is then often compared unfavourably to the remaining 99 per cent, with statistics showing lower academic achievement rates, and higher incidence of criminal convictions and drug use.” Kev Curran said these figures risked becoming self-fulfilling prophecies by putting limitations on what young people believed they could achieve.

“Children end up in the care system through no fault of their own, and yet they are frequently identified as the most likely to fail,” he said. “They are used to being told what they can’t do, not being inspired to achieve what they can, and this can have a detrimental impact, sometimes in the long term.”

He said it was crucial decision-makers heard an undiluted version of their views.

*All York 16 to 25-year-olds who have recently left care or are moving towards independent living can apply to join the project by going to www.theonepercent.uk