“The Philip Lawrence Awards work from the premise that there is no them and us. It is not a scheme for young people; it is run substantially by them. They work closely with the organisation of events, and increasingly will be involved with new and global challenges. Past winners have become judges and mentors, helping other groups of young people to set up similar schemes in their communities.


It is a privilege and a delight to work with these young people and I find it highly disturbing to see the spate of negative articles that appear in the newspapers and in the media, culminating in the recent notion that ‘Britain is becoming fearful of its own youth‘. Yes, we could all point to young people who may be anti-social but we can point to people of any age – maybe, at times, to ourselves – who are not what we might describe as good citizens.

Young people are the first to see that there are some in their age group who behave appallingly. At the same time, they recognise that no individual should be defined by the actions of others.

We applaud those young people across the country who, often in very difficult circumstances, are courageous enough to confront those things that damage and distort the lives of others. They identify problems or potential problems, actively challenging racism, ignorance, fear and boredom – those elements which demean and shatter the spirit of communities. We celebrate the freshness of vision through which they offer alternative ways of living.”

Frances Lawrence, December 2006