19 November 2009

 A social enterprise in Plymouth has been crowned the winner of the 2nd Annual Social Enterprise Photography competition, it has been revealed today. Millfields Trust saw off competition from the winners in each of the eight other English regions to be voted the champion by a panel of the UK’s Social Enterprise Ambassadors. The competition called for images which show how social enterprise is more than just business as usual.

Social enterprises are businesses run for social and environmental purposes. They reinvest their profits back into the business or the community they serve so they can fulfill their social and environmental goals.

Millfields Trust’s winning photo was taken by Peter Dukes and shows local schoolchildren celebrating their graduation from the Widening Horizons project. The project involved Year Five children from six local primary schools in Stonehouse, Plymouth participating in a programme of workshop activities to allow them to see first hand a wide range of different work opportunities. The aim was to raise the aspirations of the children by showing them all the options available to them in their future careers.

Roger Pipe, General Manager of Millfields Trust, said:

“We felt we had a great photo that captured the happiness and exuberance of young people. The guest speaker at the graduation was Richard Bayly at the Govt office. Richard encouraged the children to grasp the opportunities presented to them with both hands - the picture sums up the children's determination to throw themselves into the programme.”

Peter Dukes who took the winning photo said:

"I’m delighted to have won an award with my photograph, but what is such a joy is to have seen these young people enthused about the opportunities that await them in the world of work; the Widening Horizons project has given so many of them a real sense of purpose; I hope the project can not only continue but be even be extended to other areas of the city."

The photo, along with winners from the other regions, will be on display today at a special event at No 10 Downing Street to mark Social Enterprise Day. It will also appear in next week’s edition of The Big Issue magazine, and go on display at Voice10, the national conference for social enterprise.

Jonathan Bland, CEO of the Social Enterprise Coalition which manages the competition, said:

“Following the great success of last year’s photography competition, the Coalition was delighted to manage the contest for a second year. Photographs are a brilliant way to capture the diversity of the social enterprise movement, and the stories behind the images can be the key to raising public awareness of just what it is that makes social enterprise more than just business as usual.”

The runner up was taken at Chester and District Housing Trust in the North West of England.

-End-

Notes to editors:

• For further information please contact Katherine Harvey, communications officer at the Social Enterprise Coalition at katherine.harvey@socialenterprise.org.uk or call (w) 020 7793 2286

• The Social Enterprise Coalition is the UK’s national body for social enterprise. As the voice for the sector, the Coalition provides a platform for showcasing the benefits of social enterprise while supporting and representing the work of its varied members, influencing national policy and promoting best practice. www.socialenterprise.org.uk

• Social Enterprise Day (Thursday 19 November) is a national celebration of Social Enterprise. Run by the Make Your Mark: Change Lives campaign – a coalition of national partners across the fields of enterprise and education, including the Social Enterprise Coalition and the Office of the Third Sector - it is part of Global Entrepreneurship Week (16-22 November) which involves thousands of events and activities: www.gew.org.uk/ • The Social Enterprise Ambassadors programme was announced in the government’s Social Enterprise Action Plan in November 2006, and aims to raise awareness and foster a culture of social enterprise in England. www.socialenterpriseambassadors.org.uk/

• Voice10 is the UK’s landmark event for social enterprise run by the Social Enterprise Coalition and takes place in Cardiff in February 2010. www.voice10.org/pages/voice.html

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