UNITY A CONCERT FOR STEPHEN LAWRENCE

#SL20

29th September 2013 – The O2 Arena

ELLIE GOULDING

JOINS LINE UP WHICH ALREADY INCLUDES

EMELI SANDE, RIZZLE KICKS, LABRINTH, PLAN B, JAMIE CULLUM, JESSIE J, TINIE TEMPAH, RUDIMENTAL, ED SHEERAN, RITA ORA & BEVERLEY KNIGHT

JAHMENE DOUGLAS AND LONDON COMMUNITY GOSPEL CHOIR WILL ALSO PERFORM

In aid of The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust

"I would like Stephen to be remembered as a young man who had a future. He was well loved, and had he been given the chance to survive maybe he would have been the one to bridge the gap between black and white because he didn't distinguish between black or white. He saw people as people” Doreen Lawrence

• 20 years after the tragic murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence, music’s biggest names unite for a special concert championing youth and social empowerment

• Concert to raise funds for The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, which helps to develop brighter futures for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds

In just two weeks time Ellie Goulding will take to the stage alongside some of the biggest names in British music for ‘Unity – A Concert for Stephen Lawrence’. Also performing at the concert will be Jahmene Douglas and the London Community Gospel Choir.  

Ellie said: "I am thrilled to be joining the line up alongside amazing artists for such a worthwhile event - to be able to use music for a good cause is a dream for me so I hope that everyone who comes has a fantastic night and that the message will help to make positive and meaningful changes to peoples' lives. This is about all of us uniting for social empowerment."

Nick Grimshaw and Reggie Yates have will host the star studded event and there are more exciting announcements to come. 

The concert aims to unite communities and bring people of all backgrounds together through the common language of music. It marks the 20th anniversary of Stephen Lawrence’s murder. Through the work of Stephen’s mother, Doreen Lawrence and The Stephen Lawrence Charitable  Trust, Britain is changing but there is still much more to be done. The SL20 campaign, set up by the Trust to mark this important anniversary, aims to highlight Stephen’s legacy and the vital work undertaken by the charity in his name. This concert will play a pivotal role in the SL20 initiative.

This event sees UK artists and the music industry working together to create a one-off concert and raise awareness and money for the Stephen Lawrence Trust, further providing opportunities for those disadvantaged by their colour, their postcode, their ethnicity or their poverty – across the UK.   All the artists will perform tracks specially chosen for their social message

Unity – A Concert for Stephen Lawrence is supported by Mayor of London Boris Johnson as well as Lewisham and Greenwich Council.

All artists will be arriving at the event in chauffeur driven Audi cars. 

TO DONATE MONEY PLEASE VISIT: http://www.justgiving.com/slct/Donate or text SLCT20 followed by either £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 to 70070 e.g. 'SLCT20 £10' to 70070

Tickets are available to buy here: www.aeglive.co.uk

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Notes To Editors:
Information on the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust

Stephen had a dream, which was cut short when his life was tragically ended as a result of a racially-driven attack. Too many young people, due to their colour, their postcode, their ethnicity or poverty, can only dream - some do not even dare to dream - about what they could achieve in their lives. The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust nurtures talented young people so that they can live their dreams. 

What is SL20?

It has been 20 years since Stephen Lawrence was murdered simply because of the colour of his skin.  SL20 is the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust’s campaign to mark this anniversary and to celebrate Stephen’s legacy.

We want to ensure that all young people get a fair chance to contribute their talent to shaping our society. We want to ensure that this country can benefit and flourish from diversity.

We are running a series of events throughout this year that aim to both raise awareness and resources so that the Trust can continue its work to transform lives. 

Stephen’s legacy - what has the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust achieved?

• Macpherson report & beyond – The inquiry into Stephen Lawrence’s murder, led by Macpherson, recognised the existence of institutional racism for the first time. This led to real change to the legal system in the UK along with changed practices in statutory organisations. 
• Access to Professions – over 100 bursaries, nine architects now qualified and three with their own practice, regular memorial lectures and feedback to built environment industry.  Annual Stephen Lawrence Award in partnership with RIBA.
• Stephen Lawrence Centre – this visionary building design by David Adjaye opened in 2008. There is a full programme of creative, educative and employability activities for young people and the local community.

Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust - what next?

The Trust aim to continue its work in three key areas:

Access to Professions 

A programme to support young people into ambitious and transforming careers, which builds on learning and achievements. Supporting young people into careers in architecture, growing into a widening spectrum of careers - from law, finance and the media through to medicine, policing and technology. It provides very practical ways to overcome barriers to the boardroom and career progression. 

Voice for Transformation

This programme includes:

• An annual memorial lecture series to provide a high profile platform for sector leading debate.  The series will include lectures on architecture, criminal justice and education.
• SLIK is a youth-led peer development national e newsletter / web news source. It publishes the views of young people across a range of social and political topics. SLIK Presents are planning a series of events in order to bring young people into debates. 
• Work with Police Crime Commissioners to ensure that they have good race equality practice and fair community policing on their agenda. This is to ensure that the lessons of Macpherson are understood, learned from and implemented.

Community Programme

These are programmes delivered at the Stephen Lawrence Centre to support local people into work through direct employability activities as well as softer skill development.  For example:

• Smarter Communities is a holistic, community focussed programme aimed at improving the skills of local residents, connecting people through events at the Stephen Lawrence Centre, and empowering local third sector organisations to deliver their services effectively
• Peer employability training programme for young people aged 16-24, which places young people at the heart of developing and delivering an employability programme.