Blog

Children & Arts Inviting Start Arts Partner Applications for 2009/10

Posted 2nd December 2008 16:51pm by Alison Duguid

The Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts is actively seeking passionate and committed partner arts organisations to work with them to develop and deliver Start for primary and secondary schools in their local area.

From 1st December 2008 Children & the Arts is inviting arts organisations across the UK to apply to become an arts partner for their flagship program Start. They are looking to recruit eight to ten new partners for the 2009/2010 academic year.

Through Start, Children & the Arts provides funding and practical support to enable arts organisations across the UK to form partnerships with primary and secondary schools in their local area. Throughout the course of the school year children will have the chance to attend at least two professional performances, concerts or exhibitions and participate in workshops lead by professionals.  Start allows children who have little or no experience of the UK’s rich culture – children who may never have been to a play, heard a live piece of classical music or even visited their local art gallery – to experience the very best of the UK’s glorious arts heritage.

Through Start children will also discover that cultural venues are welcoming, accessible and exciting places to be in the hope that students will continue their engagement with their local cultural venue beyond the life of the project. 
 
The deadline for Stage One applications is 23rd January, 2008. 

Applicants are advised to read the detailed guidelines and criteria for arts partners before applying. You can read these on the Children & Arts website, and you can also download a Stage One Application form as a pdf or a Word document there.
    
For more information, visit the Start pages on the Children & Arts website.
 

Inaugural Mosaic Talent Awards for Excellence

Posted 27th November 2008 13:15pm

Last night HRH The Prince of Wales, President of Business in the Community, was joined by HRH Princess Badiya bint El Hassan of Jordan to celebrate the achievements and positive contributions made to society by young emerging Muslim talent at the Mosaic Talent Awards at the Natural History Museum.

Out of the 57 entries received, 31 finalists were shortlisted for awards in eight categories for their inspirational work in society – Entrepreneur of the Year; Science & Technology; Arts, Culture & Media; Community Leadership (open to all faiths); Sports; Volunteer of the Year; Interfaith (open to all faiths); and International.

The winners were selected because they had set themselves apart in showing extraordinary talent and dedication.

OVERALL WINNERS:
Entrepreneur of the Year Award - Sabirul Islam.
Science and Technology Award - Imran Hakim.
Arts, Culture and Media Award - Ms Zarah Hussein.
Community Leadership Award (open to all faiths) - Positive Prospects (pictured). 
Sports Award - Muslim Women’s Sports Foundation.
Volunteer of the Year Award - Gulistan Aksahin.
Interfaith Award (open to all faiths) - MUJU Crew.
International Award - Islamic Relief.

The inaugural Mosaic Talent Awards for Excellence were held to mark Mosaic’s first year of activity. Mosaic is a Muslim led initiative working to break down barriers across British society, convened by Business in the Community (BITC), one of The Prince’s Charities. It encourages linkages between successful Muslim professionals and disadvantaged young Muslims, in order to raise aspirations and increase access to opportunities for education and employment.

John O’Brien, Managing Director of Mosaic, Business in the Community, said: “We received a staggeringly high standard of nominations for the Mosaic Talent Awards for Excellence, and are delighted that so many of the finalists could be with us for this special occasion tonight.

“As well as highlighting and recognising the positive impact on communities that young Muslims can have, these awards demonstrate the tremendous influence that such strong relationships between businesses and local communities can have on young people of all faiths.

“I would like to personally congratulate all of the finalists and in particular the winners – they are an inspiration to us all and we can all learn from them. This has been a phenomenal year for Mosaic and I look forward to an even more successful year in 2009”.

Mey Selections win BBC Food and Farming Award

Posted 27th November 2008 12:14pm

Mey Selections won the Best Retail Initiative award last night at the NEC in Birmingham. The award, given by Radio 4’s food and farming programme, is seen as the Oscar of the food and farming world and it acknowledges Mey Selections' outstanding achievement with customers on a national scale.

The Mey Selections brand is a direct result of the North Highlands Initiative inspired by HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, which was launched in August 2005 to promote and develop the economy and to support the rural communities of the North Highlands.

Celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Ainsley Harriott were at the awards ceremony and Dr John Strak, Managing Director of North Highland Products, was there to accept the award from Jimmy Doherty, the star of the TV programme Farming Heroes, in front of an audience of 250 people. The programme was recorded live for Radio 4 and will be broadcast on Friday 28th and Sunday 30th November. It will also be available at the BBC website in the Radio 4 play again section via the iPlayer.

John Strak said, “This is an amazing achievement. We were nominated by the listeners of Radio 4 and the judges are the experts of the food and farming world. After just three years of trading Mey Selections has reached an audience and customer base of millions through Sainsbury’s and our online web shop. This award is a testimony to the quality of the products we sell and the hard work and commitment of our farmers and fine food suppliers. Every day and every week of the year we show commitment in the livestock and food and drink products we offer to our customers.”
 

Winner of YBI Entrepreneur Award 2008

Posted 26th November 2008 13:32pm by Alison Duguid

Ramu Uyyala from Hyderabad in India is the winner of the The Prince's Youth Business International Entrepreneur Award 2008. 

Ramu comes from a very poor family and could never attend a proper school. However, with lots of hard work and commitment he managed to set up his own plastic recycling company. After four years in business he already employs 20 people directly and 20 people on commission. In addition he is able to support his elderly parents and finance the studies of his two brothers.

Watch this video to find out more about Ramu's story:

New volunteering opportunity at Turquoise Mountain

Posted 18th November 2008 16:31pm by Alison Duguid

Are you looking for a volunteering opportunity in Central Asia? The British charity Turquoise Mountain is looking for a volunteer for three months or more in its main office in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Work would most likely be office-based and involve a significant degree of administrative activity. The candidate should have a high degree of cultural sensitivity and an interest in Central Asia. Ideally she or he would also have an interest in urban regeneration in a post-conflict region, together with a university-level education. Accommodation, insurance and food is provided.

If you are interested, please email jobs@turquoisemountain.org, with an email headed 'Volunteer Position'. For more background information, visit Turquoise Mountain's website.

For other volunteering opportunities within The Prince's Charities, visit our Volunteering page.

The Prince's Rainforests Project & the World Photography Awards

Posted 12th November 2008 13:33pm by Yalda Davis

The Prince’s Rainforests Project (PRP) has announced its partnership with Sony Europe and the World Photography Awards (SWPA) to create an exciting new prize category – The Prince’s Rainforests Project Award.

There are two categories for the PRP Award; professional and amateur. Photograph submissions for both categories are open on the World Photography Awards website. Entries to the amateur category should fit one of two themes: what the rainforest means to you – its splendour, animals and plants, destruction and loss; or the enjoyment you get out of the forests where you live and the direct and indirect effects of deforestation on your life.

Here at PRP, we’re very excited about this competition as it is the largest international photographic competition in the world. Not only will it help us to reach a wider audience with our message about rainforests and their importance in combatting climate change, but also the prize for the professional category - a three month trip photographing rainforests and the impacts of deforestation around the world - will provide us with an exciting portfolio of new images which are so crucial in communicating our message.

We plan to turn this portfolio of images into a book highlighting the plight of the world’s rainforests in time for Christmas 2009, and the photos will also be displayed in galleries around the world. A selection of the best images by amateur photographers will be displayed in Cannes during the Awards in April 2009 and these images will also be used by the PRP on various initiatives throughout the year to help communicate our important message. 

There are already a lot of amateur entries to the competition which you can view at The World Photography Awards website.  

To find out more about our other current projects,  visit our website, The Prince's Rainforests Project.

Win a signed copy of The Birthday Book

Posted 4th November 2008 16:38pm by Alison Duguid

To celebrate The Prince of Wales's 60th birthday this month, 'The Birthday Book' has been produced in aid of The Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts. The children's book, edited by Michael Morpurgo and Quentin Blake, will be published on 6th November 2008.

'The Birthday Book' sees over 50 of the finest authors and illustrators from the book world contributing extracts from favourite titles, poems and new stories, together with new illustrations for this gift book. The book includes contributions from Philip Pullman, Kevin Crossley-Holland, Dame Jacqueline Wilson and J.K. Rowling, with new pieces from authors including Eoin Colfer, Anthony Horowitz and Eleanor Updale. The stories, poems and letters are illustrated by the crème de la crème of contemporary illustrators including Axel Scheffler, Posy Simmonds, Emily Gravett and of course Quentin Blake.

The Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts is an educational charity that helps children experience the arts in a high quality and sustained way. It provides access for young people who would otherwise grow up having had no, or very limited, opportunity to engage with the arts.

We have one very special copy of the book, signed by Michael Morpurgo and Quentin Blake, to give away to a lucky Prince's Charities Community member. To enter the prize draw, e-mail us at princes.charities@royal.gsx.gov.uk with your name, address and telephone number. The deadline for entries is Sunday 30th November 2008. (No alternative will be offered. Only the winner will be notified. T&C apply).

Each month, we will be bringing you a fantastic new competition prize from The Prince’s Charities Community. You must be a member to enter so, if you have not already done so, join the Community by registering here.
 

Bringing government and charity together: a Charity Next secondee's experience at Barnado's

Posted 31st October 2008 14:24pm by Jo Mardon

It’s been two months since I joined Barnardo’s through the Charity Next scheme, and it’s hard to believe how quickly the time has gone!

My role is to develop and support our internal ‘Pass it On’ campaign, which aims to raise awareness across the organisation about the importance of gifts left to Barnardo’s in supporters’ wills. The whole organisation? That’s not just staff but over 9000 volunteers too, with a wide variety of roles, interests and motivations for being part of Barnardo’s. All these are factors we need to consider for our communications to be effective, and through my role I’m gaining a fascinating overview of how a charity such as Barnardo’s runs.

As part of my induction I was encouraged to visit a Barnardo’s project, to understand at first hand some of the work we do with vulnerable young people. So it was that I set off on a journey to one of our Young Carers Projects where I spent a day shadowing the Children’s Services Manager. It was fascinating to gain an insight into the inner-workings of the project, from funding to targets to relationships with the local authority. Speaking to the social workers and going out on a visit really brought home how much of a difference Barnardo’s can make to these children’s lives – and their families too.

What a contrast to working on a Bill in the Department for Work and Pensions!

Exclusive Duchy Originals discounts

Posted 24th October 2008 16:32pm by Nicky Sherwood

Duchy Originals is pleased to offer members of The Prince’s Charities Community an exclusive 10% discount on their entire Christmas Gifts and Hampers range until 31st October 2008.

With prices starting from just £27, the Duchy gift collection offers something for everyone. Friends who enjoy cooking will love The Organic Cook gift (£45) which includes the Duchy Originals Cook Book and selection of organic ingredients as well as Duchy’s new Organic Herb Seeds, all presented in an open storage basket.

Green Fingered types will love The Organic Gardener gift (£50) which includes a Hand Trowel made from wood from the Duchy of Cornwall Estate, along with organic Vegetable Seeds and some tasty organic treats, presented in a branded wooden seed box.

If you’re stuck for ideas for those hard to buy for Dads and Granddads, look no further than The Gentleman’s Hamper (£27) which includes a selection of products with robust distinctive flavours, including Organic Ale, Mint Humbugs and Ploughman’s Pickle, packed in a mini wicker hamper.

For a special gift, choose The Luxury Hamper (£100) which contains an indulgent selection of festive treats, including Organic English Sparkling Wine, Organic Chocolate Bezants and Duchy’s award-winning Christmas Pudding, all presented in a traditional handmade wicker hamper.

Profits from the sale of all Duchy Originals products are donated to The Prince’s Charities Foundation.

Members of The Prince's Charities Community can take advantage of this exclusive offer, by contacting us for the promotional code to use when placing your order. Ordering is easy… visit the Duchy Originals website or call their order line on 01747 850 822. Orders must be placed by 31st October 2008 to be eligible for the discount, but delivery can be arranged for any time up to 19th December 2008.

If you are not yet a member, but would like to take advantage of this offer, simply join us today!

Bringing government and charity together: a Charity Next secondee's experience at The Prince’s Regeneration Trust

Posted 20th October 2008 11:47am by Sarah Fisher

I joined The Prince’s Regeneration Trust in August, on a one-year secondment from DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) through the Charity Next initiative. I really can’t believe I’ve already been here two months – it’s gone so quickly!

My role here is extremely diverse, ranging from fundraising, business planning and implementing our education strategy, to drafting publications and helping develop our sustainability policy. I think it would be virtually impossible to have that kind of job in a big government department so it’s a fantastic opportunity. I’m going to have to get much better at juggling so many things at once though!

Now that I’ve had a chance to settle in, it’s been great to get out and about and speak to people working on related projects. For example, in the last couple of weeks I’ve visited a ‘superhome’ in Camden where a listed Victorian terraced house has been refurbished to impressively high environmental standards whilst retaining its special historical character, and I attended a workshop on the future of the UK’s ‘places of worship’.

I’ve also been meeting with staff in the other charities about working together to encourage the take-up of traditional building craft skills, which are so important for adapting the UK’s many historic buildings in a sensitive way. I’ve been really struck by the knowledge, passion and energy of the people I’ve spoken to – it’s infectious!

Finally, following the recent machinery of government change (creating a new “Department for Energy and Climate Change”) I’m not sure quite where I will be going back to at the end of my secondment. But I’m not worrying too much about that at the moment - I’ve got plenty to get my teeth into here!