A BLACKBURN youth group has been shortlisted for a prestigious award.

Youth Action, which works to raise awareness of the Second World War among young people, is in the running for the 2007 Philip Lawrence awards.

If they win a prize they will bag a £1,000 windfall.

Youth Action is a group of 24 young people, mostly from black and ethnic minority backgrounds, who learnt media skills, interviewed veterans, and made a DVD after deciding they felt isolated from traditional history lessons at school.

Members now hope to expand the group, and work on improving tolerance and understanding in schools.

The awards, which promote racial harmony and citizenship, were set up in 1996 in memory of headteacher Philip Lawrence who was murdered while trying to protect a pupil outside his school.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony hosted by newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald in London next month.