Greenwich student is inspiring young entrepreneurs after performing on ITVs The Voice

BY CALUM FRASER
calum@slpmedia.co.uk

Harold ‘HBoss’ Lisk, 26, combines his passion for music with business, a skill he learned at GSM London, formerly Greenwich School of Management.

When he is not touring, he stages workshops  for 16 – 25 year-olds to help them  harness their creative talents to create business opportunities.

Mr Lisk said: “I think it is important for  young adults to be able to channel their skills in a way that enables them to create a lasting career from it.

“I believe I have experiences as a professional performer and skills in business management that I have learnt are ones that I can share with them to achieve that.”

Mr Lisk was invited to Buckingham Palace, where he met Princess Anne  in recognition of his contributions to young people within the community.

After graduating from GSM London in 2014 he has gathered a substantial following, gaining a reputation for his energetic choreographed performances.

He has played at Wembley Stadium, the SSEArena, Royal Albert Hall and the O2.

He said: “I was always performing in some way or another and knew that I wanted to combine my love of performing in such a way that I would be able to create a business around it.

“Through a lot of grit, I have been able  to combine my passion for performing with business and also use that focus to impact and shape the next generation.”

While he did not progress into the next stage of The Voice, his impact on the crowd was undeniable with people clapping and dancing.

He wants to take this experience forward into his career and continue entertaining the public and sharing his skills with young talent around him.

GSM London is an independent higher education  provider that has deep roots in the community as 80 per cent of their students live within 10 miles of the campuses in Greenwich, Greenford and London Bridge.

On top of this, 90 per cent of their students  are from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

New research commissioned by the UK Safer Internet Centre, to mark Safer Internet Day 2018, has revealed that young people in London are more likely to have a positive experience than a negative experience when online.

The study, which surveyed 2,000 8-17 year olds, including 267in London, on their feelings and attitudes towards social media, revealed that despite the often-publicised negative effects of social media use, the internet plays a pivotal and positive role in how young people develop relationships and maintain their social lives in 2018.

Reporting on young people’s online experiences, the research shows that respondents in London have felt inspired (82 per cent), excited (89 per cent) or happy (93 per cent) as a result of their internet use in the past week. In contrast, a smaller proportion reported to have felt sad (63 per cent) or angry (62 per cent) by what they came across online in the last seven days.

When things do go wrong, young people in London feel confident to reach out to their networks for support and guidance, with 68 per cent saying they talk to friends when someone upsets them online.

Slightly lower, 64 per cent turn to their parents and carers for guidance.

Young people in London, also feel passionately about their online community with almost four in five (78 per cent) of those surveyed claiming to believe that every person on the internet has a responsibility to be respectful to others. Demonstrating empathy and support online, 91 per cent said that when a friend was feeling sad or upset they had sent a kind message. 59 per cent said they’d feel isolated if they couldn’t talk to their friends via technology.

However, many young people in London also face bullying, exclusion and a range of pressures to maintain their friendships and popularity. Over three in five (63 per cent) of respondents in London said that people had excluded them online in the last year, with 74 per cent thinking it is important for friends to include them in group chats. 82 per cent say it’s important for their friends to reply to their messages as soon as they’ve seen them. Still, many young people in London are rejecting these pressures with 26 per cent saying that they do not feel they must use social media to be popular or liked.

With reforms to Relationships and Sex Education on the horizon, it’s positive to see the majority 78 per cent of young people in London wanted their school to teach them about cyberbullying and how to manage friendships online. However, almost one in ten (9 per cent) of those surveyed say that they have not been taught this in school.

The UK Safer Internet Centre – comprised of Childnet, Internet Watch Foundation and South West Grid for Learning – believe that the key to continuing the positive use of the internet is to give young people with the skills to navigate the online world in a safe and respectful way, and ensure schools, parents and carers and other members of the children’s workforce have the tools to help young people do so.

With Safer Internet Day, the UK Safer Internet Centre is working with hundreds of other organisations to encourage more conversations at school and at home about young people’s online lives and how their actions online can affect relationships, empowering young people to use digital technology wisely.

Will Gardner, a Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre and CEO of Childnet, says: “It’s clear that technology is having an impact on how young people develop relationships, interact with each other and express themselves.

“The findings highlight the majority of young people’s experiences of the internet in London are positive”.

“However we also see a negative side, including where young people face pressures in their online friendships.

“Safer Internet Day lets us collectively promote respect and empathy online, inspire young people to harness their enthusiasm and support them to build positive online experiences for everyone.”