This summer, 13 young people from HideOut Youth Zone and Salford Youth Zone added another impressive chapter to their creative portfolio, completing an AQA accredited podcasting project at MediaCityUK in partnership with Landsec.
Having previously taken part in a broadcasting project with Gaydio Academy, these young people were no strangers to a professional media environment. That experience had given them a foundation, and this time, they arrived with the confidence to build on it and the curiosity to push further.
Across four sessions, the young people were split into two groups and got straight to work. They brainstormed their concepts, recorded their own podcast episodes exploring the worlds of film characters and music bands, and produced their own social media reels to promote their work. From initial idea to finished content, every creative decision was theirs.
Earning an AQA accreditation alongside that process is a genuine achievement, a formal recognition of the skill, commitment, and creativity they brought to every session. These are young people who chose to show up, engage, and deliver. And deliver they did.
At EMPOWER, we talk a lot about opening doors. But moments like this are a reminder that our young people do not need doors opened for them. They need the space to walk through them on their own terms. Partnerships with organisations like Landsec and MediaCityUK give them exactly that: a professional environment, real creative challenges, and the opportunity to produce work they are genuinely proud of.
The results speak for themselves. Check them out here