'I'M here to tell you about The Prince's Trust Local Reporting Awards, why I'm supporting them and why, if you are a young journalist or writer, you should get involved too!

The awards recognise excellence in local newspaper reporting by young writers who cover stories about young people and their positive contribution to the community.

The awards provide great opportunities for young people in two ways: first they help promote and encourage young journalists and writers, as they are designed to recognise reporting skills of writers between 14-30.

This year, the awards are not only open to working journalists from regional newspapers, they also offer people from communities across the UK the opportunity to try their hand at writing for their own local newspaper.

For young people who would like to work in the media, it is an opportunity to get some first hand work experience and a prestigious award. Second, and much more far reaching, is the positive press that the awards give young people in general.

Entrants must write about examples of where young people are making a positive contribution to their local community.

The three entries which have been shortlisted for the 2002 awards show how varied these contributions can be, and how valuable. One describes a group of school children who got together to counteract the bullying at their school in Bristol.

Another describes a young man facing the challenges of his role as a carer for his severely ill mum.

The third journalist told the story of a group of teenagers in Bradford who are giving better and more exciting opportunities for young people in their community, keeping them occupied and out of trouble. These stories highlight the problems facing some young people, and are great examples of how they have taken charge of their situations and done something to change their circumstances in a positive direction. This is exactly what The Prince's Trust aims to do: enable young people to achieve their potential and make the most of their lives.

Through their different programmes, The Trust helps them to develop confidence and skills, get into work or start their own businesses. Since it was founded in 1976 The Trust has helped more than 450,000 of these young people. It is particularly important to publicise good news stories about young people, as often we can get overwhelmed with negative stories about kids.

That's where regional newspapers come into their own, with their constant support of the great good news stories that are out there. As well as highlighting these positive stories, regional newspapers also generate good news by campaigning for local causes. By representing their communities in this way, regional newspapers have won their reputation as the most trusted form of media.

They give their readers vital local information, and act as a community mouthpiece and an important forum for change.

Through The Trust I've met many young people who are doing all sorts of inspirational things.

I'm sure that there are lots more out there, so get writing, get in contact your local paper, and get their stories into print!