Bradford youngsters are set to take centre stage in the Millennium Dome in the year 2000.

They will be part of a project called Our Town, in which Bradford Education Department will be able to take over the Dome and present a day devoted to the city's history and future.

It is part of a county-wide scheme called The Learning Experience which was announced yesterday to the region's education chiefs and community leaders at Leeds Royal Armouries Museum by Dome supremo Peter Mandelson's deputy, Jon Trickett.

Mr Trickett said: "Every region will have local events for local people so that everyone can be part of the millennium.

"The Learning Experience will have an impact on schools throughout the county and every school will have the opportunity to perform in the Dome."

As well as the Our Town project, there will be SchoolNet 2000, in which schools will access and add to a website linking 340 other schools in the country. Other projects will include Voices of Promise in which children will be encouraged to write songs reflecting their own experiences and hopes for the future.

Julie Bellanfante, education manager for the New Millennium Experience Company in Yorkshire and Humberside, said: "It will encourage children to go back into their community and use it as a learning resource. It will also give them a chance to use new technology.''

She said Bradford Education Department had already shown interest in spending a day in the Dome and was planning a number of events such as exchanges visits with children in Greenwich and cooking the world's largest curry.

"Projects like Our Town will give Bradford the chance to show the whole world what it is about," she added.

Soraya looks ahea

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One of the children at the forefront of the Millennium experience is Soraya Tate, 14, a pupil at Whitcliffe Mount School, Cleckheaton, who is one of two youngsters representing Bradford on the Millennium Youth Council.

Soraya, of Scholes, Cleckheaton, was nominated to the Council from Manchester Road youth organisation MAPA, and is now responsible for submitting ideas for projects in Bradford to go in the Millennium Dome. She is hoping that the Millennium initiatives will spark a brighter future for her generation.

"I think that there is a lot of division in Bradford - especially between the races - and I hope that the Millennium will bring us all together."

Soraya and the other members of the youth council are to visit other parts of the UK and Europe to tell children from other cultures about living in Bradford.

She said: "This is a really big opportunity for people living in Bradford and they should all get involved if they can."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.