On Monday 5th July Headliners attended the launch of the Children's Law Centre’s (CLC) photography exhibition ‘The Hood is Down’ in Belfast. Their aim was to tackle prejudice and stereotyping of young people in today’s society. A panel of 14 to 17 year olds highlighted these issues which affect all children in Northern Ireland. Anna Monaghan (16) spoke to us about the exhibition.
”We hope to represent the challenges and difficulties young people face today and achieve more leniency in the way people treat us.” 
The CLC work towards a society in Northern Ireland where all children can participate, are valued, have their rights respected and every child can achieve their full potential. The exhibition began with a display of photographs which showed negative perceptions towards young people often portrayed in the media.
One photograph showed an old woman peering out of her window. Chris Maguire (17) said, ‘It’s a typical perception of someone thinking ‘are they trouble makers? Are they up to something?’’.
It was a perfect example of the message CLC are trying to get across. The exhibition also hoped to showcase the positive affects young people have on our society and how we make a difference in our communities.
It’s important to highlight the positive contributions young people make through their work as young carers, community activists and volunteer workers. Congratulations CLC on a very thought-provoking exhibition.
Listen to accompanying radio programme here.
About this article
This story and radio piece was written and produced by Emma Malcomson, 15, and Naomi Drury,15, from Headliners in Belfast.
