"This December I will begin a journey of 1000km across Mali to meet the people I believe can help solve the problems of youth disaffection in the UK for a new 90 minute documentary, From Hay to Timbuktu.

The film's production begins during this year's Hay on Wye literary festival with a photographic exhibition of my first trip to Timbuktu that helped Hay on Wye to beat 52 other UK towns including Glastonbury and York for the coveted prize of being twinned with Timbuktu. That trip highlighted some unexpected differences between the youth of UK and Mali.

In Timbuktu I found Malian teenagers with few material possessions respectful and industrious, Tureg children taught fifty to a class with few resources, disciplined and eager to learn. She saw self-assuredness in the society and a certainty in family life we seem to have lost.

Not a week goes by without someone in the media lamenting the demise of citizenship and respect in today's youth, but this is not the worst news. Britain has the highest youth crime, suicide and pregnancy rates in Europe, even though we have never been so wealthy, our schools been so well funded and our youth have so many material possessions. So where are we going wrong and more importantly what can we do about it?

My hope is that this film will prompt deeper thinking about how we bring up our children and the values we teach them and when young people see the film come to see and understand that respect counts and can be cool as well.

The documentary is an independent production by A Serendipitous Production, the director Akua Ofosuhene came to the story when she heard about the Timbuktu delegation were coming to Wales last October. She was drawn to make a film about the twinning, but over time she realised a film following an outcome from the twinning was the real story.

Akua says she was inspired by my speech at the Houses of Commons, where I talked about learning the true value of friendship and community while in Africa. That is the moment when the film came to life, everything began to fall into place and she knew the twinning could bear fruit to a new conversation with Africa where two communities can share the best of what they have to offer.

The film will be released in April 2009 and the 'From Hay to Timbuktu Production Launch' will be at

Addyman Books
39 Lion Street, Hay on Wye,
Hereford. Herefordshire HR3 5AA

FRIDAY 23RD MAY - 6.30 - 8.30pm

The launch is free and open to the public and the photographic exhibition will remain in Addyman Books till the end of June 2008.

For more details and contact information go to the website listed to the right of this page.

Article by Anne Brichto