Campaign news
Get the latest information on what's going on at Make Your Mark in Coventry.
August 2007 Schools Enterprise Conference and Celebration takes place at Broad Horizons
July 2007 The Enemy and The Ripps lend their support to the campaign at Coventry's Godiva Festival
July 2007 Kombat Breakers show their support for the Make Your Mark campaign
June 2007 Young people grab the chance to win a grand just for having an idea
June 2007 Local business and education leaders pledge to help entrepreneurs of tomorrow
March 2007 Coventry University graduate is in the fast lane to success
December 2006 Local students to take part in enterprise conference
November 2006 Girls! Make Your Mark in Coventry
Schools Enterprise Conference and Celebration takes place at Broad Horizons
August 2007
11 July saw the first Schools Enterprise Conference and Celebration at Broad Horizons Young People's Centre (Coventry's Enterprise Hotspot). Over 200 young people, business leaders, teachers and students from across the city came together to celebrate Coventry's growing reputation as a city of enterprise and opportunity.
Young people had the chance to showcase their talent and their enterprising projects and activities and took the mic alongside a number of keynote speakers who presented the array of opportunities available to young people in the City. Britain's Got Talent finalists Kombat Breakers also performed at The Conference at Broad Horizons in Foleshill, returning to the venue where they practiced before becoming TV stars. From local schools and local agencies, there were drama groups, rappers, singers, dancers, web developers, school enterprise clubs ... all sorts of people who are having ideas and making them happen.
The one-day event which was due to the collaboration of Zoe Bradley (Chamber of Commerce and LEGI), Bob Pinner from the local Make Your Mark team and Pete Longden (Youth Service). The event was also supported by a number of city leaders including the Chair of Broad Horizon’s young person’s centre and the Chief Executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce Louise Bennett, Lord Mayor Cllr Dave Batten and John McGuigan, Director of City Development at Coventry City Council.
John McGuigan said: "Coventry is on the edge of something quite dramatic."
Fleur Sexton from Progressive Educational Tools (PET Learning) co-ordinated the event and she said:
"It was one of those life-affirming events and all the feedback said the buzz was amazing. Young people who at the start of the day didn't have the confidence to face the audience were asking me for a chance to have their say by the end of the day. Everyone was commenting that the young people who took part are amazing - full of energy and life, seizing the opportunities available to them.”
For a free DVD of the day which will provide loads of ideas for others running similar events, contact Fleur Sexton on broadhorizons@petlearning.co.uk
The Enemy and The Ripps lend their support to the campaign at Coventry's Godiva Festival
July 2007
Coventry-based band The Enemy are lending their support to the Make Your Mark campaign. The band recently hit the number one spot in the album charts with their debut album, We'll Live and Die in These Towns. Earlier this month the band played at the Godiva Festival in Coventry, where they showed their support for the campaign.
The Enemy lead singer Tom Clarke said: “If you ask any 16-year-old what he wants to do, he will have loads of dreams and ambitions – he might want to be a musician or a scientist. But it’s important to follow those dreams even if there are some knock-backs along the way.
“When we were starting out we played three gigs at The Hope & Anchor in the city centre. The first night there were only 20 people there, nodding their heads. The second time that crowd had grown and by the third time, there were 200 people who couldn’t get in!
“We feel really lucky that the band is starting to become popular but we know there are loads of talented people in Coventry. That’s why we’re happy to support the Make Your Mark campaign which is encouraging young people in Cov to have ideas and dreams and see them through.”
Also showing their support for the campaign at the festival were up and coming Coventry band The Ripps
The Ripps said: “We started off by rehearsing loads, writing lots of songs and were eventually picked up by a label. We were nominated to play the BBC Radio One stage at Glastonbury along with loads of artists and were chosen to headline on the Saturday night. When we saw our album in the shops it was really weird but positive – it’s totally overwhelming seeing your music in a shop for sale.
“We’ve always promoted Coventry and mention the city on our album. In fact we were selling ‘I Love Cov’ t-shirts before we were signed. I love Coventry and was born and bred here and can see it’s always improving. Coventry is a city on the up and The Ripps are happy to support the work the Make Your Mark campaign is doing.”
Kombat Breakers show their support for the Make Your Mark campaign
July 2007
The Kombat Breakers recently achieved national recognition when they appeared on ITV's Britain's Got Talent programme. All seven members of the Kombat Breakers are from Coventry and still live in the area, and they are supporting the Make Your Mark campaign.
Read the Kombat Breakers' inspiring story
Young people grab the chance to win a grand just for having an idea
June 2007
The search for Coventry’s entrepreneurs of the future headed to the city’s West Orchards Shopping Centre this week where young people were given the chance to win £1,000 just for having an idea.
They were taking part in A Grand Idea to Make Your Mark, a national competition aimed at encouraging young people to come up with ideas - and there is still time left to enter and be in with a chance of winning a share of the £15,000 prize pot.
The shopping centre was the venue for an MTV video pod which enterprising 16-25 year olds could use to film their ideas. All that was asked for was a one line idea, along with the five simple steps needed to make it happen.
People in Coventry also have an extra chance to win, as four local organisations – Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, the Learning and Skills Council, CSWP and learning and training company Progressive Educational Tools - have all donated £1,000 prizes for the best Coventry entries.
Ideas can be world-saving, inspiring, enterprising or just plain funny and the best entries will win the cash prize and appear on MTV’s show FYI during Grand Ideas Week, July 16-22.
Jennie Evans, of the Make Your Mark in Coventry campaign, said: “We were really pleased to see so many young people from Coventry taking part in this event and they have come up with some great ideas.
“It’s all about encouraging people to have ideas and showing that it is not as daunting as it might seem to turn those ideas into reality."
One person who took the opportunity to film their ‘Grand Idea’ on the MTV video pod was Kim Rihal from Holbrooks. She said: “I was just doing some shopping and when I saw there was a chance of winning £1,000 I decided to go for it.
“My idea was for satellite navigation for dogs – I know it sounds a bit strange but the organisers told me it didn’t have to be totally serious! Using the video pod made it really easy as I could just talk about the idea as the details came into my head.”
Local business and education leaders pledge to help entrepreneurs of tomorrow
June 2007
Business and education leaders in Coventry have pledged to work together to help the youngsters of today become the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.The Make Your Mark in Coventry campaign brought distinguished guests from across the city together to commit to encouraging young people in their teens and 20s to turn their ideas into reality. This includes starting up a business or social enterprise, or making an idea happen at work.
David Frost, director general of British Chambers of Commerce, which was one of the founders of the campaign, was a keynote speaker and highlighted the unique opportunities that exist in the area.
Coventry is one of four intensive regional Make Your Mark campaigns across the UK, with the aim of fuelling an enterprise culture within these areas and boost the economy through the currency of young people’s ideas. The target is to double the number of young people aged 14 to 30 who are thinking of starting their own business by 2008.
Louise Bennett, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and Make Your Mark Champion, said: “We want to go forward to create a local coalition that is absolutely focussed on youth enterprise. It is about inspiring young people to make their ideas happen. We are regarded as a city of huge potential and want to make the most of the strong partnerships we have already established.”
David Frost, director general of British Chambers of Commerce, said: “What always impresses me about Coventry is its ability to constantly reinvent itself. This is one of the most enterprising cities in the country and this is a one-off opportunity to work together to make a difference.”
Coventry MP Bob Ainsworth said: “We are living through a revolution of globalisation and technology and this city is thriving in the intense heat.
“But we are going to have to go faster if we are to keep up. It’s not important – it’s vital. This is not just about wealth creation - it’s about quality of life as a whole. We need to pledge to work together to make it happen.”
Coventry University graduate is in the fast lane to success
13 March 2007
A Coventry University graduate’s business idea has put him in the fast lane to success. Adam Desmond from Rugby has devised a website which allows learner drivers to find an instructor and book lessons online.
The 23 year old has now been invited by Make Your Mark in Coventry to become a campaign ambassador. This role will see Adam give practical advice to other young people so they can turn their own business dreams into reality.
Local students to take part in enterprise conference
December 2006
Five hundred students from north east Coventry will next month take part in the first Make Your Mark in Coventry Enterprise Conference.
With the aim of encouraging creativity and stimulating ideas, the day will be delivered by the Coventry North East Federation of schools and supported by the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI).
The Make Your Mark in Coventry campaign aims to encourage young people in the city to be enterprising – either by starting their own business or by making an idea happen within the workplace.
Bob Pinner, Head of the Make Your Mark in Coventry campaign, believes that this conference is key to setting the city’s enterprise agenda and ensuring young people feel involved from the beginning.
He comments: “Young people can and should be given a forum to influence local policy-makers and organisations to move enterprise further up the agenda.
“The conference should not only put Coventry’s young people and their ideas firmly on the map but will also give them the confidence and support to make their own ideas become a reality.”
16 and 17 year olds from Foxford, Caludon Castle, Cardinal Wiseman, Lyng Hall and Woodway Park Schools will be joining students from Henley College at the Ricoh Arena on Wednesday 31 January 2007.
During the day they will be able to take part in the following:
- Meet successful entrepreneurs, taking advice from someone who has already ‘made it’
- Hear from and meet enterprise support agencies who are in a position to help them make their idea happen
- Watch performances from Coventry-based youth dance group Kombat Breakers and the Round Midnight Theatre Company
The day will also be a chance for students to learn about the benefits of connecting with others. Speed networking guru Oli Watts will be on hand to run speed networking sessions and emphasise the importance of talking to others in order to progress ideas.
He said, “Students at the conference will be split into groups and tasked with coming up with ideas to make Coventry a high energy, creative city for young people. Speed networking focuses on sharing ideas and meeting new people. With 500 students in one room the noise level is certain to be pretty high!"
One of the main aims of the conference is to give students the confidence to continue to share ideas.
The Make Your Mark in Coventry campaign is encouraging the set up of Make Your Mark Clubs, which allow space for creativity and risk-taking both inside the classroom and in their own time.
You can find more information on networking, and tips on how to start a network, at www.makeyourmarkconnect.org
Girls! Make Your Mark in Coventry
November 2006
Three successful entrepreneurs encouraged other women to set up their own businesses to mark Women’s Enterprise Day, part of Enterprise Week 2006 which took place from 13-19 November.
Victoria Moon, Rachel Doyle and Steph Cutler spoke at the Girls! Make Your Mark event in Coventry at the Ramada Hotel & Suites in The Butts, Coventry, as part of the Make Your Mark campaign.
The trio told their stories and gave advice to encourage and inspire other young women to turn their ideas into reality during the free event on 15 November.
Victoria is responsible for sales and marketing at the Peach Pub Company which has six thriving pubs, including the Rose & Crown in Warwick and The One Elm in Stratford, and the company has reached the final of the National Business Awards in London on 7 November.
Rachel set up Battery Connection at a stall in Coventry nine years ago to sell batteries and provide a specialist fitting service for watches, cameras and mobile phones. She now has five sites and franchised the whole operation this year.
Steph from Balsall Common set up disability equality consultants Open Eyed after discovering she had an inherited eye condition which means she has lost the majority of her sight.
Bob Pinner, Head of the Make Your Mark campaign in Coventry, said these three entrepreneurs were a shining example for other women considering taking the plunge to start their own company.
"Victoria, Rachel and Steph are all involved in successful businesses and their talks should inspire other women to make their mark in the business world. Men start up 150,000 more businesses than women every year and we believe it is about time women closed the gap. The Women’s Enterprise Day event was a chance for women to get tips from three women who have already made their mark."