City Lions’ Digital Festival is a summer hit

Many young residents in Westminster were busy attending online workshops and virtual events last week, as part of City Lions’ Digital Festival.

Across the five days, young people were able to gain exclusive access to the most interesting and exciting creatives who delivered free workshops online via Zoom.

There was something for everyone with workshops by BFI (British Film Institute), Fashion Bytes, The Screen Community, Wonders of London, Framestore and Imperial College London.

There were also performances from TV magician and maverick Pete Heat plus pop band Ten Fé.

The workshops were designed with the school day in mind and offered those taking part the opportunity to explore creative career paths and to boost their CV.

One young resident, Mira, aged, 15, explained in an Instagram video how much she liked joining the Framestore workshop, which gave an insight into film editing and visual effects.

She said: “I really enjoyed it because I not only got to see how much work goes on behind the screens, but also I got a better understanding of how it would be like to work in special effects as well as how I can pursue a career in special effects in the future.” 

Another City Lions member, Daisy, 14, attended the fashion master class with Fashion Bytes.

She said: “I really enjoyed all the different techniques she taught us as I’m dong textiles GCSE at school. It was really useful as I feel I can use that in the future to get good grades. We learned how to dye different fabrics sustainably and how to use fabrics sustainably. She taught us about the fashion industry and how easy or hard it is to get into it. I signed up to the festival because I wanted to get an insight into the fashion world, it was really useful, thank you very much.”

Derrick Odafi, the creative director of New Wave Magazine, lead a workshop about brand identity. 

He said: "It was a pleasure to host a workshop with Westminster Council and speaking to the youth about an industry that they are interested in. It was very enjoyable to answer their questions and see their interest in my craft and the topic of the workshop, looking forward to more in the future!"

Cllr Mark Shearer, Westminster City Council Deputy Cabinet Member for Community Services and Digital and Lead Member for City Lions, said: “The Digital Festival was a great initiative and a wonderful way to bring young people together during these tough times.

“I hope many of those who took part this week use the opportunity to develop their skill set and even make the first steps towards a future career in the creative arts.”

Visit, https://citylions.org to sign up to be a City Lion