The summer of 2012 is a busy one for Britain. With two major events in the calendar, namely the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it's an exciting time to showcase what this country has to offer. Our finest athletes, designers, curators, chefs and countless others will have an opportunity to exhibit their talents and make the nation proud while inspiring and motivating people through their work.
Having the power to inspire people is a great gift. Inspiration can give people hope and help them to believe they can achieve. It can be a lifeline to someone in despair and on the verge of giving up. This is why The Prince's Trust has asked six iconic British talents of today to inspire and mentor six young people who share their passion for a certain industry. Together they will celebrate British talent, champion young people and inspire the next generation.
The Trust's Tomorrow campaign is working with established faces and retailers from the worlds of fashion, food, photography and design - all industries popular with young people seeking our help to find work. Our mentors are designers Wayne Hemingway MBE, Zandra Rhodes CBE and Kelly Hoppen MBE, beauty entrepreneur Liz Earle MBE and food writer, chef and television presenter Gizzi Erskine. They will each mentor a young person who has overcome barriers to employment with help from The Trust, to develop a product which will be sold nationwide. A number of committed retailers, including T.M.Lewin, Zizzi and QVC, will support the mentoring process, providing guidance on product development and selling the Tomorrow products to raise valuable funds for the charity.
Our mentees want unemployed young people to know that they have stood in their shoes, and they have walked a path to success. We hope the six young talents at the heart of our campaign will inspire many other young people to achieve their potential.
With more than a million young people out of work, we must all take action to avoid a generation of young talent going to waste. Young people need our support to be the industry leaders of tomorrow. By offering disadvantaged young people the skills, confidence and motivation they need to move into work and enterprise, we can help them - and society - to realise what we know they are capable of.
We must unearth the potential in our young people today by nurturing their talent and giving them opportunities. They are, after all, the talent of tomorrow.
To find out more about The Prince's Trust Tomorrow campaign visit www.princes-trust.org.uk/tomorrow