A former looked-after young person of By the Bridge with Cambian (BtBwC) has spoken about identity and debated the values of a diverse group of individuals living, working and studying in the city for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Coventry and Warwickshire.
Inspiring 18-year-old BtBwC care leaver, Michael Mihoc [pictured above], from our West Midlands region, spoke about what it means to have an ‘identity’ in today’s modern society.
Michael, an actor, public speaker and Director of an Arts company said: “My identity, I class as everything I have been through, every meaningful experience, all the memories. My identity is everything that I do, everything that I love. It’s my political views, it’s everything I love to do for a job, it’s where I grew up, it’s everything I am, everything I believe and everything I have experienced.”
BBC Radio Presenter and Journalist, Sima Kotecha, chaired the special debate, named ‘Nine Truths’ with the group of inspirational young people all from different backgrounds with an aim to come to a consensus about what it means to live a good life in today’s society. At the end of the programme they were invited to come up with ‘Nine Truths’ - moral maxims to live by.
Elaine, Michael’s former Foster Parent at By the Bridge, said: “Michael is an inspiration and is making great strides in the theatrical world, currently sitting on the board as a young Director at The Edge Theatre Company amongst many other things.”
It is clear, our fantastic Foster Parent Elaine has had such an amazing impact on Michael’s life, adding: “Thanks to Michael (who nominated me as his Most Inspirational Person), my portrait is now also on display in the gallery with others at The Hippodrome Theatre in Birmingham after The Edge Theatre Company asked me to take part in a project called "Home" showing inspirational women and what this means to individuals.”
Thank you to Michael’s former Foster Parent, Elaine for sharing this fantastic achievement with us and a massive well done to Michael for speaking on such pressing issues amongst young people. This is an amazing accomplishment for Michael [and Elaine], that everyone at By the Bridge are extremely proud of and will hopefully inspire and pave the way for many others to raise the conversation of identity in the UK and succeed.
Listen to the full debate on BBC Sounds HERE
Photo credits: BBC
