Monday 18 October 2010

Filming in Canary Wharf



The young film makers from Poplar spent two afternoons interviewing people who work in Canary Wharf.  Lawyers, bankers and HR professionals agreed to give up their time and take part in this project. The young people from Poplar primarily wanted to find out:

- What jobs the workers in Canary Wharf did and how they got there
- What opportunities there are for young people from Tower Hamlets
- What views the people of Canary Wharf held of young people from neighbouring boroughs
- Whether the people of Canary Wharf felt building a relationship with Tower Hamlets was important
- Whether the workers in Canary Wharf would ever consider giving up their free time to help mentor young people in Tower Hamlets?

Interestingly many of the preconceived views shared by the young film makers during the drama and story development workshops were found to be wrong. A lot of young people were surprised at how humble and open the people of Canary Wharf were, as they came outside in the cold giving up their time to contribute towards the film. Many interviewees did agree to come back to the youth centre and help the young people with team building sessions.  Through these engagements, young people hope to become aware of the range of opportunities out there and the possible routes to achieving them, and more importantly, to build an ongoing connection with Canary Wharf.