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UCAN Perform makes the Welsh final of The National Lottery Awards 2006 |
UCAN Perform, a creative arts project for visually impaired young people, has beaten off competition from hundreds of other Lottery funded projects to reach the Welsh final of The National Lottery Awards 2006. Cardiff based UCAN Perform is one of four projects chosen by a panel of high profile judges to go head to head in a public vote to claim the title of Wales’s National Lottery Project of the Year. The winner will earn a place in the UK final, set to be broadcast on national television later this year. Former Hollyoaks actor Bernard Latham and his wife Jane set up UCAN Productions so that children with visual impairments across Wales could access the arts. With the help of £4800 of Lottery funding from the Arts Council of Wales visually impaired children from five local schools took part in a series of drama workshops which concluded with a performance. The children learnt about drama and acting along with the technical and artistic aspects of theatre such as lighting and sound. The experience had a big impact on the youngsters involved, boosting their confidence and self esteem and also challenged the perceptions of sighted members of the public towards people with visual impairment. Bernard Latham, UCAN Productions Artistic Director says: “UCAN opens up a whole new world to visually impaired children and gives them a chance to try something they haven’t experienced before. We are raising awareness of these young people’s talent and capabilities and giving them new skills. Winning this award would really help to highlight their achievements. I want everyone in the country to know how inspiring these young people are” Now UCAN perform needs your help to be in with a chance of winning. The winning Lottery funded project from Wales will be chosen by public vote. The Welsh project with the most votes will go forward to the UK final to compete against winning projects from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. To register your vote for UCAN perform call 0845 434 8937 or log on to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk and click on National Lottery Awards. Voting lines are open now and close 11 August 2006. Representatives from the winning Welsh project can look forward to attending the UK awards ceremony where the overall winners will be announced. The BBC will showcase this during The National Lottery Draw programme on National Lottery Day later this Autumn. The other three Welsh finalists are the Wales Millennium Centre, the Nye Bevan Drama Documentary Project and Sculpture by the Sea. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, more than £890 million has been raised and over 23,000 grants given out across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment. The National Lottery Awards recognises the hard work and dedication of people who use Lottery funding to make a difference to communities across the UK. |
| National Lottery Awards web site: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk |
| Elliw Gwawr e-mail: elliw.gwawr@geronimocommunications.com |
Monday, July 10, 2006 |
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