MISS TEEN CARIBBEAN - BOOHEMA BOOHENE (26/08/2014)

The Ultimate Teen pageant and Talent Showcase for young girls aged 13-17 years in the UK. It was a spectacular display, which I enjoyed very much.

The pageant consisted of 7 young females representing the Islands in the Caribbean. It started with the beautiful host announcing each female, including their hobbies, interests and aspirations. This gave the audience a deeper understanding of each young girl, and what they enjoy during their spare time. The host had a rather strong, and what sounded like a Bajan accent. This gave the event a more authentic feel and portrayed a strong image of culture to the audience. Each female took to the stage gracefully performing a talent such as dancing, singing or spoken word. I could only imagine the type of day the girls had encountered, and how much preparation was involved beforehand. Making sure they model correctly and remembering to look at the audience and camera's at the same time.

 It was all a bit too much for 17 year old Renee Cocker who broke down in tears on stage, whilst performing her spoken word piece. The audience however encouraged her to carry on and cheered for her to be confident. After overcoming her fears and realising she was strong enough to perform, Renee delivered a beautiful piece which many enjoyed. 

The show then continued with a cat walk, as each girl walked down the stage in style, as if they were a part of the popular TV show ‘Britain’s next top model'. The dresses worn each had a elegant shine with diamonds sparkling in each corner. I couldn't take my eyes off Gabrielle Joseph's long pink princess gown. My eyes weren't used to absorbing so much light at once.

During intervals the DJ kept the audience, happy and bubbly whilst entertaining us with popular reggae music which many of the older generation enjoyed, as it reminded them of back home. Although I am African I really felt welcomed and embraced by the Caribbean people at the event and with the music it helped to set the scene.

The last section of the pageant showed the level of intelligence and innovative skills each girl had. They were each asked one question about their specific Island such as " How can we get the young Jamaican people in this country to know more about their culture". One of the contestants Taneka Miles answered by saying schools in the UK could partner up with Jamaican schools and students could be pen pals, to find out more about life in each country. It will also create a larger and stronger community. 

It was coming towards the end of the show and parents and the families were all sitting down nervous, as they wanted their child to win. Although it was a competition it was definitely made clear that the Caribbean people are still a Diaspora, as they all supported each other. After waiting impatiently for the winner to be announced. The host crowned 15 year old Gabrielle Joseph from Trinidad and Tobago as Miss Teen Caribbean. Gabrielle was surprisingly shocked and burst into a flood of tears. It was such a wonderful moment for us all to witness and everybody was delighted for her.

Gabrielle will now be a young ambassador for the Caribbean and will be responsible for many tasks concerning her Island in the future. Each contestant looked very pleased when the event ended and I’m sure it was an experience they will never forget.

YOUTH MEDIA SUMMIT 2014 - LYDIA WILLGRESS (11/08/2014)

#LoveYouthMedia - a hashtag created by the Youth Media Agency,and a slogan that dominated the 2014 Youth Media Summit. Five years after the first summit, the event was held at the British Film Institute and brought together 450 delegates from over 150 different youth media platforms.

Look up the definition of summit and you might expect a conference where industry experts talk at the audience aided by bland PowerPoints.  From the keynote speech - an inspiring insight into SBTV’s Liam Tootill’s climb to the top - the Youth Media Summit fought against this stereotype with young, energetic entrepreneurs and members of the youth media scene encouraging the audience that young journalists are the future. “The time is now,” Louis John, founder of What’s Good?, reminded us.  

The highlight of the day, for me, were the masterclasses we attended both before and after lunch. The first I went to was with a panel from The Guardian (Time Out and BBC ran two sessions at the same time) who drilled down into the key question of the day; how can mainstream media collaborate with youth media. The five journalists, from a variety of desks including social media and comment, spoke about how The Guardian uses community journalism to broaden its coverage. Examples included using Flickr to find a wide range of sources during the London riots and collaborating with the Everyday Sexism project to create video content. The panel then opened the floor for pitches and gave advice to individuals who wished to collaborate with them. (For those that want to pitch in the future, send an email to the relevant desk, Tweet them, use the You Told Us page or write in the comment box on Comment is Free.)

The second masterclass I attended was hosted by Nick Peitre, one of the founders of Wannabe Hacks and Deputy Head of News Development at The Times and Sunday Times. He spoke about digital strategy, advising those in the room that choosing what not to do is as important as knowing exactly what the long-term goals are. Nick also talked us through completing a SWOT analysis - the ability to know what your site’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are (worksheets can be found here) - and gave valuable advice to individual bloggers who wanted to know what they could do to improve.

After some lunch and great live music (a particular favourite was India Graye, a ukelele player and blogger), the afternoon consisted of a Q&A with three industry experts from the BBC, Channel 4 and Creative Skillset. Although heated at times (just why doesn’t the industry represent content from youth media?), the sessions contained useful advice including how to pitch to Channel 4 (email in, Tweet @Cilla4Talent or just start a conversation), a reminder that YouTube channels are a great way to showcase your presenting skills and advice from the BBC on interviews - attitude, approach and passion are the most important things. 

One of the last speeches of the day was given by Al Brown, head of video at VICE. As he told the room that we, as young journalists, have a responsibility to be angry at the world and how it represents Generation Y, the room erupted into applause. A fitting end to a day that celebrated Youth Culture. 

                 DASHIKI - Play Dirty Jones (05/08/2014)

The weather is great at the moment and wearing too much clothes is becoming a big problem... The weather has made the returns of the string vests and Dashiki's ever so welcome!

For those who don't know what a Dashiki is; The Dashiki is a colourful, vibrant men's garment widely worn in West Africa, that covers the top half of the body. It has formal and informal versions, and varies from simple draped clothing to fully tailored suits. A common form is a loose-fitting pullover garment, with an ornate V-shaped collar, with tailored and embroidered neck and sleeve lines.


DopeChef, we're the first brand that I know of to bring Dashiki's to the UK. The Dashiki Capsule was launched In March 2014 in time for their 5th Year Anniversary. Since then, Dashiki's have become more and more Popular in the UK.

The Lace garment has always been a popular style among Africans, thanks to its comfort, look, lightness. The fabric is lightweight, helping the wearer be somewhat more comfortable in the harshly hot African climate. The garments are loose-fitting in addition to being as long as they are. Even though the Dashiki is traditionally a men's garment, this summer I've witnessed many females wearing the Dashiki as a dress.. I like the look, it's simple but very effective (how cheesy). The fact that Dashiki's are one size makes it difficult to pull off for men as you may look like a pea in a huge top if you have a small build. However you can always take the Dashiki to a tailor to get it fitted.

Well known celebrities Beyonce and Chris Brown have both been photographed wearing a Dashiki, and it has now become a trend with people wearing Dashiki's everywhere! If you're Looking for a place to get great quality Dashiki for a good price, contact Selassie Taylor on Twitter or Depop and quote "ABIJONES"