Last month, local charity NE Youth hosted a night of achievements at the Youth Impact Awards, alongside numerous clubs and charities from across the North East.

There were over 100 nominations across 15 categories highlighting the importance of youth work in the north east. 

There were nominees from as far as County Durham and Northumberland, with numerous awards like Project of the Year and Young Achiever of the Year being presented to charities and young people from the area. 

We spoke to Dylan Pederson, winner of the Young Achiever of the Year award, who told us how important the award was to him, saying “It means quite a lot actually, seeing all of the people who have actually been nominated for it.” He added, “It’s quite a big award as well. It means a lot to achieve that.”

NE Youth, the event organisers, are a local youth development charity which aims to improve the lives of young people across the region. The charity has been running across the North East for nearly 90 years. It has been organising the awards since 2011. 

Jon Niblo, CEO of NE Youth, said it was “really important that we can take the opportunity to celebrate and recognise the achievements of young people.”

He also said the event gives young people the opportunity to “come to a fantastic hotel, meet different youth organisations, make new friends and just be part of a special evening which can raise their confidence and communication skills.” 

Jon also commented on how young people often “get a raw deal” and “get bad press”, saying that the event “demonstrates all the fantastic stuff that young people do.”

Another award winner was Jonathan Hudson, chairperson of Headliners UK. Headliners is a charity that empowers young people to have a voice and share their stories, and the stories of others, through creative media and journalism. 

Holly Ayrton, Charity Manager for Headliners said “It’s really great for our chair to be honored for his commitment to Headliners, Jon started off with Headliners as a young person and has continued to support us ever since”

The annual award event would not have been possible without funders and supporters and the independent judging panel. We look forward to next year’s event, which will be celebrating the 90th anniversary of NE Youth.