Young people in Ipswich want to 'share our culture and our history' as part of the town's push to become the next City of Culture.
Ipswich's next generation want the chance to create businesses and earn money, to share the town's culture and history and want specialist spaces as the deadline for the full bid application draws near.
At an event at The Church in Ipswich, 15-year old drummer Nandi Bushell, who famously played alongside the Foo Fighters and was named as an ambassador for the City of Culture bid, performed original music as a thank you to young people giving up their time over summer.
Marcus Harris Noble, who was appointed as one of the creative producers for the bid said: "We're here today at the church where young people have been giving their views and their ideas for the Ipswich City of Culture bid.
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"It's been a wonderful day where young people have given their ideas, and they've been treated to some wonderful musical rewards.
"We've had videos being made. We've had podcasts being made. We've had a blueprint for youth ideas and activities for City of Culture being made. All the groups have contributed their time in the summer.
"We really want to make sure that youth voice comes through loud and proud, and they've told us three things: they want the opportunity to control and contribute to the program through their own spaces, their own projects, and their own events.
"They want to be able to share our culture and our history in a way that includes everybody, not just the usual faces we always hear about. And thirdly, they want to be able to make money, create businesses, and start careers using their creativity.
"This is what their ideas reflected, and this is what we want to make sure goes in loud and proud to our City and Culture bid."
This newspaper asked some of the young people, Madii, Elyot and Darell if they could have £1million pounds to spend on Ipswich what would they do?
Elyot said that they would "give it to young people for a venue for them to express themselves and to give young people the opportunity to work."
Maddie meanwhile said she would "be focussing more on infrastructure for young people to access their dreams and their wishes but also to be enable them to get around the county more rather than just focussing on specific areas.
"We [should] allow them to have more access to work, to have more access to employment and to events they enjoy."
Darell said that he would: "put on a culture day in Ipswich where each and every culture in Ipswich comes together. Let's try out each other's food, let's try out each other's music and let's get to know each other.
"A lot of the challenges and problems we face with racism and all that is not because we hate each other but because we don't know each other so we fell uncomfortable when we come into spaces together.
"So if I had £1million I would definitely put a culture day together."
Ahead of her performance, Nandi Bushell said: "I'm really really proud to be from Ipswich, and I definitely wouldn't be the musician I was with without it.
"We have these open jam sessions in the town where you get to play with different musicians, try out different instruments and learn stagecraft and I don't know how people would get access to that without it."
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