Clare Edwards hands over BYPY title to Antony McCourt

Lunarwoman and 2007 Birmingham Young Professional of the Year, Clare Edwards, handed over her title to Wragge lawyer and Birmingham University graduate Anthony McCourt at a glittering dinner at the ICC on 22nd May.

This is the text of her handover speech:

First, congratulations to tonight’s winners and finalists – tonight is a celebration of your success and the work you do in Birmingham.

I’ve been asked to reflect on my year as BYPY and you will see in your programmes that there are a list of things I’ve done during my year with the title, so I won’t repeat myself here. I thought that it is important to talk to you about the affect that BYPY has had on me and the projects that I am involved with.

BYPY is a great pat on the back. It is a pat on the back when you are shortlisted, it is great pat on the back when you win your category and it is a almighty pat on the back to win the overall prize.

BYPY is not just about what you do for a living it is about the kind of citizen you are of Birmingham. Once I had got over the shock of me, with my music degree winning over people with proper degrees in things like Law, Finance and Architecture – I realised that it was my approach to my work and my life here that had impressed the judges.

For me – the pat on the back has allowed me to walk a bit taller and be bolder in the things that I do. It has also got me thinking about how the contributions we all make to the city can really make a difference.

If I can win BYPY – then maybe even my music work and voluntary and community activity can really make a difference? I already believe that the Arts have a huge part to play in making Birmingham the great city that it is. I then I realised that I on my own can do very little; it is what I can do working with the professional community, the city council and a range of others that really matters

Gigbeth is a great example of that. I have been delighted at how, alongside all the support I get from the music world, the agencies like Marketing Birmingham help us, sponsors like Brewin Dolphin and the Radisson here tonight support us, alongside public funding local press support from the Birmingham Post and others.

Birmingham is a great place to do business from that point of view. It is a big city with big companies but small enough that the sense of joint priorities and joint ownership.

Gigbeth is the big shiny, city centre thing that I do that is visible to those in this room. However, of equal importance to is the work I do in the neighbourhoods of Birmingham, like working in Castle Vale with local people to build their own arts programme and – coming up next week I’m working with Birmingham’s multi award winning musician Soweto Kinch to put a professional show on under Hockley Flyover in Handsworth.

This is a deliberate statement from Soweto to show how the most amazing arts ‘happenings’ can occur in the neighbourhoods in the most surprising spaces. That is the kind of spirit of Birmingham that excites me.

It is important that keep in mind – as we work to promote Birmingham around the globe that we do this sort of work to engender civic pride in the every day people of the city too!

Surely in a week were it looks like a 7 year old was able to die of starvation in our city and in Handsworth in particular – it is all the more important to find ways to bring together the wealth and success of the city centre with the neighbourhoods. I invite you all to join me under Hockley Flyover on 31st May to see that the power of that work in action.

For me with local people genuinely involved and the talented young professionals doing their stuff in the city centre – Birmingham can be an even more amazing place than it is now.

I am very proud to have won BYPY – I was getting a bit sad about handing the title back – as it has allowed me to describe myself as young for the past 12 months! (something I stopped doing after having two children!)

I am less sad be handing it over as only this week I have been shortlisted for the UK Young Music Entrepreneur 2008 by the British Council – so I have a reprieve and can use the tag a little longer.

I am also less sad because this years winner is a real inspiration and someone I am glad to be handing the title over too.

I would also like to thank to Cobbetts on behalf of Birmingham Future for their sponsorship tonight and everyone else involved in the awards who make these evenings so memorable.

So without further delay I will pass you over for the announcement of the overall winner…

Thank you!