'Inspiring' Jill Dando good news initiative aims to go global
Timeline of Jill Dando's murderJill Dando: The golden girl of TV
Jill Dando was one of the highest profile members of on-screen BBC staff and was named the corporation's Personality of the Year in 1997.Her murder remains one of the country's most high-profile unsolved murder cases, with more than 2,000 people having been named as potential suspects.She is remembered for being the "nations sweetheart" by many. In 2017 two student journalists and Mr Dean, a former journalist, came up with the idea to start Jill Dando News to honour her memory. It grew from a good news initiatives at Priory Community School in Weston-super-Mare and Worle Community School - where Jill had been a pupil.Jill Dando News Centres are now in place across 11 schools in Somerset but have now also expanded to include a school in Malawi.
Mr Dean, 52, from Weston-super-Mare said: "Everybody's got a huge determination to take this global. "The children want to take this global. We're in Malawi now and I've been talking to schools in America."It is a watch-this-space situation."Mr Dean added that Jill's love of positive stories is inspiring the students, improving their self-confidence as well as working to tackle the "epidemic" of poor mental health among young people. "Instead of young people sat doom scrolling all day long, if we get the help of the government and business leaders I think we could have a day in a few years where the children are sat there scrolling good news stories, or even better, that they're writing them."Jill's legacy has been one of positive journalism," he said. He added that her "courage and determination" to reach the heights of journalism gives hope to all students that they can achieve anything. "She has inspired students with her unbelievable story while at the same time remaining humble."She never changed from being Jill."
Nigel Dando, Jill's brother and former BBC journalist, said his sister would be "incredibly proud" of the movement carried out in her memory.Sarah O'Gorman, 39, an English teacher at Priory Community School in Weston-super-Mare helped set up a Jill Dando News Centre in Malawi and says the model "can work in any setting, any country"."The legacy and passion of Jill Dando has the power to become international and the model can work in any setting, any country so we want to spread the good news revolution as far as it will go. "We have a strong, dynamic model of how to set up Jill Dando News centres in school or youth club settings which is easy to replicate," she added
Mayor John Crockford-Hawley, 78, is a patron of Jill Dando News and said it helped build up students' self confidence. "It is giving confidence to young people not to fear to go and ask and integrate with those who are not just their own age group."He added it was "amazing" how much the student journalists had been able to achieve, including interviewing prime ministers, speaker of the house of commons as well as celebrities like Sir Richard Branson.
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