A CONTEST has been launched in Cambridgeshire to show the positive side of young people today. SkillsTrain Young People of the Year is offering to reveal, recognise and reward young unsung heroes and set them up as positive role models. SkillsTrain, a d

A CONTEST has been launched in Cambridgeshire to show the positive side of young people today.

SkillsTrain Young People of the Year is offering to 'reveal, recognise and reward' young unsung heroes and set them up as positive role models.

SkillsTrain, a distance learning college and on-line training provider, is putting up cash prizes totalling £2,000 for youngsters who give to others.

The contest, known as Yopey, is the brainchild of a former national newspaper journalist who is fed up with the negative image of the young today.

"Everywhere you look nowadays young people are being condemned. It's almost as if every one of them is a binge-drinking, drug-taking, violent hoodie", said Tony Gearing, who used to work for The Daily Telegraph and The Independent.

He added: "Yopey gives young people the fairer image they deserve by revealing, recognising and rewarding young unsung heroes."

This is the second Yopey to be held in Cambridgeshire. The first centred on Cambridge and concentrated on the south of the county. This time it has been extended to the whole of the county and young people who live on its borders are also welcome to enter.

James Paice, MP for South East Cambridgeshire, attended last year's awards.

He said: "These awards are a terrific initiative which celebrate and reward the positive contribution young people are making across Cambridgeshire."

Councillor Richard Hobbs, chairman of East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: "Children and young people are the future of our society and their successes need to be encouraged and rewarded. I hope these awards highlight the many acts of kindness and generosity which take place every day and for too long have gone unsung."

- Youngsters aged 10 to 25 are eligible for an award and they can either nominate themselves or be nominated. Nominations are being taken from now until April 30, and an awards ceremony will take place in June or July.

INFO: To find out more information and learn how to nominate, telephone: 0845 8382640, or go on-line to: www.yopey.org and follow the Cambridgeshire 07 link.