Mitalee's Track Record

Since the inception of the group it has initiated many short, medium and long- term projects. Some of these projects were on an ad-hoc basis while some of the others were on an on-going basis. It would be a far too long list if all the projects or the works of the group were to be included. However the followings are just some of the brief details of the projects/ works the organisation have carried out/ achieved in recent years.

International Youth Exchanges

Mitalee have established a strong connection with a NGO in Bangladesh and have so far organised 5-exchange programme. For each of these exchanges young people were responsible for raising up to £15,000- through a range of fund raising efforts. Young people from different backgrounds and from socially & economically disadvantage backgrounds were given the opportunity to take part on the exchange programme and develop a range of personal and social skills.

Community Radio Project (Diverse FM)

In 1998 a group of young people from the organisation came together and raised over £16,000- to set up a community radio project, which is now run by an independent Steering committee. Until 2005 Diverse FM broadcast on a month long RSL license. Each year more than 60 local voluntary/ community groups were able to promote their works for free and about 150 individuals, from all ages and backgrounds learn new skills in broadcasting and other related areas. This project has enabled to bring people of all ages and backgrounds together. For example, through providing slots to different community groups it has successfully brought under one roof the Bangladeshi, Pakistani Kashmiri, Punjabi, Gujarati, Albanian, Bosnian, Irish, African Caribbean community together. In 2007 Diverse FM successfully obtained a full time community license from OFCOM and started fulltime broadcast from March 2007. In Addition to broadcast the project also provide training on various aspects of radio broadcasting and running nationally accredited training courses, accredited by Open College Network

Summer School Project

The Summer School Project was established in 1991 and since has become an annual integral part of the organisation’s effort to address a range of social, economical, health, employment and recreational issues faced by young people in particular though not exclusively. Summer School Project is an unique project in terms of it is run by young people for young people. Each year young people from the Steering Group raise up to £20k and recruit 30-40 young volunteers and provide them with a range of accredited and non accredited training e.g. first aid, child protection, basic food and hygiene, project management etc. Summer School offers a range of free or subsidised social, educational and recreational activities and opportunities for 5-6 weeks during every summer holiday. Summer School also provides opportunities to a range of other service providers to work in partnership and to address issues such as drugs, unemployment, healthy living, crime, anti social behaviours etc. This project attracts up to 300 young people aged between 8 to 20 year old each year and provides a wide range of opportunities for young people to gain personal and social skills, benefit from a range of accredited and non accredited training. It also provides volunteering opportunities young people. The staff and volunteers from Mitalee work tirelessly through out the year raising funds and organising activities with very little resources to help make a positive change amongst other young people in the neighbourhood. The efforts and contributions of volunteers has been recognised by H.M. The Queen and were awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service in 2004. Volunteers from the Mitalee Summer School Project have also been awarded with several other prestigious national and international awards. For example, Phillips Lawrence Awards, Whitbread Young Achievers Awards, Channel S Community Awards etc.

Peer Led Drama Project

During late 90s young people from Mitalee set up a drama project. Through this project Mitalee is able to engage other young people from different community & cultural backgrounds and address key social issues such as drugs, bullying, gang culture etc. The group stage educational dramas at local schools and community centres.

Educational Film projects

Through this project Mitalee works in partnership with local schools, colleges and youth clubs and offer young people as well as adults with opportunities to perform in broadcast quality educational film productions. The project also provides opportunities to young people from different community & cultural backgrounds to come and work together and learn various lifelong skills in the field of media e.g. through shadowing professional technical crew and learn about how to use camera, lights, sounds, editing, music etc. The following films are just a few example:

The Cage

Raising awareness on the subject of drugs, danger of Internet chatting, family values etc. The Auction – raising awareness on forced marriage.

Kotha Chilona

Raising awareness on mental health issues and the negative/stereotypical perceptions held by Bangladeshi community on the subject.

The Blade

Raising awareness on knife related crime and gang violence. All these films have been broadcast on different Bengali TV channels in UK.

International Youth Exchanges

Mitalee have established a strong connection with a NGO in Bangladesh and since 1991 have organised 7 youth exchange programmes. For each of these exchanges young people are responsible for raising up to £15,000- through a range of fund raising efforts. Young people from different backgrounds and in particular from socio-economic disadvantage are given the opportunity to take part on these exchange programmes.

Book - Understanding Your Heath Better

Produced a booklet containing information in Bengali on various health related issues e.g. drugs, healthy eating etc and distributed free of charge to every households, mosque, shops, community centre and youth clubs in the town.

Mela Festival

In 1990 Mitalee initiated a Mela in the town. Internationally renowned artists from Bangladesh attended the event and entertained the local community for free of charge. The Mela became an annual event and continued for several years until it became a multi cultural festival and taken over by a Trust.

Youth Drop-in

Mitalee currently provides several weekly drop-in sessions which provides a range of indoor social and recreational activities and opportunities to help develop personal and social skills of young people in the area.

In Search of Hidden Histories Project

Young people from Mitalee recently completed an Oral History project funded by Young Roots Heritage Lottery. This project explored a range of issues amongst the first & second generation of Bangladeshis in UK in terms of when they came to this country, how they came, what issues they experienced and how they overcame the growing racism in the 60s and 70s. Young people carried out interviews and produced a documentary film based on the results of the interviews.

Young Peoples Fund – Big Lottery Funded Project

This is a three years funded project. It involves setting up a fully equipped and staffed community media, training & youth drop-in facilities.

Mediabox Funded Project

This was a one year funded project completed recently. It involved recruitment of a 0.5 post, development and promotion of OCN accredited level 2 and level 3 training on “Radio Broadcast and Programme Making” for particularly young people from socio-economic disadvantaged, hard to reach and at risk of offending backgrounds. Project also involved outreach works and establishing better links with local schools, youth clubs and voluntary organisations, production and broadcast of educational programmes, enabling young people from different community backgrounds to come together and involving them in decision making process and provide them with volunteering opportunities etc. This project was recently evaluated by an external assessor appointed by the Mediabox and the following statement is quoted from the assessor’s conclusion/ recommendation: “Mitalee Youth Association (MYA) is an organisation that places young people at the heart of the design and delivery of its projects; the young people’s steering group shows further commitment to making young people equal partners in decision making. MYA should be recognised for its good practice in this area.”