Leeds young people get snapp happy with photography competition

Teenagers across the city are being given the chance to win vouchers by taking pictures around Leeds city centre and uploading them to new Instagram page @snappleeds.

Leeds City Council has launched the Snapp Leeds photography competition which was one of the winning ideas in the 'Making Leeds city centre more child friendly' competition. The competition was entered by more than 350 children and young people in 2017, however many of the winning ideas included physical structures or events so this one was chosen as it offered something different and interactive.

The idea came from Cameron, Godwin, Joe, Samuel and Simon from Abbey Grange Academy, who wanted to create an enjoyable experience for young people ‘through an interactive picture taking activity in and around the city centre’.

They said: “We thought that it would be a good idea for teenagers to become more aware of their surroundings by taking ‘Snapps' of something related to a monthly topic, with the first being royalty, linked to the royal wedding. We believed this idea could spark more ideas in young people and help them gain a better understanding of photography whilst also having the chance to win prizes.” They went on to say: “Children and young people get bored whilst shopping with their parents and many teenagers in this generation use electronic devices with free apps such as Instagram.”

In partnership with city centre ambassadors including Trinity Leeds, Child Friendly Leeds has worked with the young people to make this idea a reality. The official launch took place at Trinity Leeds where the young people’s poster was presented on digital screens. Every month, the group will decide on a theme and teenagers across the city can ‘snap’ photos linked to this and share them via Instagram on @snappleeds using #SnappLeeds. The picture that generates the most ‘likes’ each month will then win vouchers to spend in the city centre.

Councillor Lisa Mulherin, executive member for children and families said:

“The competition we held last year to get children and young people’s views on what would make Leeds city centre more child and family friendly was really popular – and we were delighted with the response that we got.

“We committed to try our best to make the top 10 winning ideas out of the 350 submitted become a reality, and it’s great to see another one coming to fruition.

“Our aim is for Leeds to be the best city for children and young people to grow up and have fun in, and I hope that @snappleeds will create a buzz amongst teenagers and encourage them to get creative and engaged in all the things that our city centre has to offer. As always, we’re really grateful for the support of our fantastic ambassadors and for their generosity in offering prizes to make entering pictures in this competition even more attractive.”

David Maddison General manager at Trinity Leeds said:

“Trinity Leeds is proud to continue our support of Child Friendly Leeds with this exciting and innovative project for developing photography in young people across the city. Social media is at the forefront of everything we do, so to encourage children and young people in Leeds to capture interesting sights around the city and share them via this medium could see us nurture the next generation of digital marketers.”

Additional info

The competition is for young people who live in Leeds aged 13 – 19 years old (up to 25 with additional needs). Prizes will only be awarded to young people that meet this criteria.