Real Stories Challenge

Show don’t just tell – it’s one of the rules of good story telling – and it's a phrase which sums up the BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility Real Stories Challenge event in Birmingham.

It started out quietly... Andy Akinwolere, BBC West Midlands Inside Out presenter and former Blue Peter presenter played host to a group of 40 young people from the Chelmsley Wood area of Birmingham. It’s a place you may have heard of as it recently been featured in BBC Three’s People Like Us. The programme followed a series of young people living and following their dreams in an area which was once Europe’s biggest council estate.

Part of BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility’s remit is to engage with 16-24 year olds. My job share colleague Nikki Tapper and I have just taken up our roles - we were new to this. We'd been given a challenge to get close to these audiences; Chelmsley Wood seemed a perfect match.

Chelmsley Wood has a large youth population, 43% of the people who live there are under 29. Recent research conducted by Sollihull Council suggests Chelmsley Wood is perceived to be one of the more deprived areas in the UK. Many of those living there feel very strongly that there are two sides to this story and are keen to have their voice heard. This project was giving them an opportunity to do that.

The Real Stories Challenge was a one day workshop taking place between two venues in the heart of the community - the brand new Enterprise Centre and the long established Three Trees Community Centre.

It was a workshop concentrating on factual story telling. However, this workshop was not just about telling the young people how programmes are made, story lines are developed or how characters are chosen. This event showed them. Led by Steve Rawling from the BBC's Creative Leadership programme, the young people took part in a series of sessions – brainstorming ideas with BBC staff volunteers from various areas including TV, Radio and Online, production staff and apprentices.

It was to culminate in the young people coming face to face with a panel from the BBC.

In the morning the young people told us what they want from BBC content - drama, humour and realism were all there – but so too was genuine concern and truth.

In the afternoon they showed us. Working with a group of graffiti artists, the teams developed some emotionally charged, creative pitches and story boards ready for a Dragons’ Den-style panel of editors and senior programme makers from BBC Birmingham and a contributor from the BBC Three series.

The subject matter was as varied - teenage dads, coming out of prison, plans for the new high-speed rail link through Birmingham communities. One by one, the teams went in to meet the panel. Nerves were overcome, stories acted out. For many this was their first time presenting to an audience and they did so with calmness and confidence. They delivered their pitches with clarity of voice and tone, ensuring that each person had the opportunity to speak and say why their idea should be picked.

And in doing so they met the criteria required in the curriculum for English and Literacy supporting speaking, listening and contributing to a discussion - tangible skills.

Pitches now made and deliberations undertaken, two semi-finalists were chosen - the stories of "James the Carer" & "Coby the Hobo". It was now time for the showcase final - the face to face pitch in front of everyone.

Unfortunately for the "James" team, one of them had had to leave to care for a relative - and that's just it - these are the realities of life for some young people here - these are the real stories of Chelmsley Wood.

In the other group (a group of young people who met through an employment skills course) were several young people who'd been reticent to speak up - now they were standing in front of around 50 people - telling everyone else what matters to them.

It was time for the public, well - room, vote. It was tight, it was tense and it was noisy... who would receive the loudest acclaim? Coby's story just clinched it.

This is a place where BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility, audiences and programme making come together – it’s not just about telling a local community that the BBC is here to reflect their lives – it’s about showing them we can listen by meeting face to face, working with them and taking their ideas forward.

It had started out quietly - in the end there was a lot to make a noise about. And with the panel already speaking about which stories and experiences could make BBC programmes, well I guess everyone's a winner, aren't they?

Katy Stead is a project manager for BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility.

• Find out more about BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility.