5th Element Nl Annual Report for 2022-23 ## **Index** |**Section**|**Title**| |---|---| |**1.**|**Charity Info**| |**2.**|**Annual Report**| |**3.**|**Independent examiner’s statement**| ## **CONSTITUTION** ## **1. 5TH ELEMENT NI - CN 103695** ## **2. THE PURPOSES OF THE CHARITY ARE:** To engage our communities with art, music, and dance, inspired by the ethos of HipHop culture. Promoting the physical/mental health and well-being of our young people in Northern Ireland through break dance, emceeing, graffiti art and DJing. To promote community spirit through supporting local initiatives, and the creatives who aim to bring people together. To nurture local talent by providing a creative, inclusive environment, and a platform for them to build their own fanbase. ## **3. TRUSTEES** Paul Ashford / Chair Darryl Forsythe / Secretary Terry Conlon Brian Burton Gareth Shields Sam Barry Paul Johnston ## **5th Element NI - Annual Report for 2022 - 2023** 2022 and 2023 were 2 notable years in 5th Element’s growth. Having moved from our initial address on 85 Great Victoria street to 13 Park Road, we set up our organisation in the old Rosetta Masonic Hall. As a result of Covid, our artist team downsized as a few members moved on, and 3 committee members stepped down, reducing us to a skeleton team. This smaller team allowed for more focussed vision, and with that, more direction. Our aim was to solidify the foundations of the charity by spending time reorganising the charity admin processes, updating all accounts and services, and building a proper structure and format to how we operate day-to-day, with defined roles for members involved. We refined our aims and objectives with more focus being placed on community initiatives. Soon after setting up on Park Rd, we began to establish connections with local communities & creative people, such as Our Social Space, the local Swing Dance community, the Ormeau Cinema Club, The Chinese Welfare Centre, as well as our local HipHop community, EDM community and Street Art community, to name a few. We also successfully set up and completed a series of workshops throughout the year with Belfast City Council, Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council, The Education Authority, and the PSNI, delivering HipHop workshops to various youth groups and teenagers in alternative education programmes. We worked with youth groups on the Sandy Row, Rathcoole, Newtownabbey, Castlemara, and Glentoran. We built working relationships with other charities working in Belfast and further afield. We have partnered with BeyondSkin on numerous projects, welcoming and supporting asylum seekers and refugees from Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. We continue to collaborate on events and workshops and look forward to seeing what 2024 brings. We also completed a series of workshops in music, art, dance, and photography in collaboration with the Rio Ferdinand Foundation, bringing youth groups and refugee groups together to learn and experience HipHop culture, music production, dance, art and photography. From organising performances, to teaching workshops regularly in our creative hub, we have enjoyed having so many cultures come through our doors. 5th Element NI was also invited as guests to 5 festivals last year; Body & Soul Festival as guest speakers and performers, United Tribes Festival with our own 5th Element HipHop tent, Climate Craic as performers, EastSide Arts Festival as performers, and finally Top8 Street Dance Battle as performers. Aside from all of the external work and projects, internally 5th Element is thriving. We teach weekly workshops in Break Dance, taught by Paul Ashford, member of Northern Soles Crew. Music production workshops and online radio shows take place in SkankFM, run by Darryl Forsythe, aka Daz. Resident artist Sam Barry oversees a growing art community who visit the building weekly, to socialise and be creative. We are also home to many photographers and videographers, who capture a lot of incredible content for us. We have partnered with Aidy McLaughlin to host a monthly music event called Plan B, which helps to raise funds for 5th Element NI while promoting the Belfast DJ scene, in celebration of the late David Anderson. This event has seen the rebirth of 90’s club culture along with a community of dance lovers who have reunited to celebrate the golden era of dance music in Belfast, featuring some of the best local, yet internationally recognised DJs. It has inspired a real sense of community spirit through a shared love for good music and good people. 5th Element NI is 100% volunteer based. Besides facilitating workshops, all of the time and effort that goes into 5th Element, from organising workshops and events & designing promo material and capturing digital content, to the general behind the scene operations, is all volunteered by beautiful people who recognise 5th Element NI as one of the most unique, grassroots initiatives in Belfast. Our love of HipHop culture, and the ethos behind ‘Each one, teach one’ is the reason we continue to support and serve our community. We all understand that 5th Element NI is bigger than any one of us, and together, with a unified vision, and real community spirit we can continue to thrive as a collective and as individuals, while providing a much needed platform for many others. ## **Notable Achievements this year** **The growing relationships** with local businesses, charities, festivals, community groups, refugee groups, alongside and the emerging creative pool in Belfast, helping us to establish a network of support, both financially and physically. In house, we support many different creatives, such as Northern Soles Crew, a long standing break dance crew, the renowned SkankFM HipHop radio station and the myriad of DJs who come through, the swing dance community, local artists Sam Barry and Niall Murphy, the wider street art community and crews, many local bands and musicians, as well as photographers, videographers, and media/arts students. **Rock The Masonic Vol2** - Our annual HipHop cultural festival, where we animate our community with HipHop music, art and dance, inspired by the original block parties in New York, where black culture thrived. A family day dedicated to HipHop culture, featuring break dance battles, a street art jam, rap and DJ performances, musicians and food vendors. This year we partnered with Breaking Ireland to bring an official Olympic ranking battle to Belfast, featuring the top Irish Bboys across Ireland, competing on their road to the Olympics. We have had many musicians, rappers, artists and dancers attend RTM as this event speaks to anyone who has interest in street culture in Belfast. **Plan B** - Watching this community continue to flourish and unite around a shared love for dance music, especially after covid. Seeing a community reunite under a love for dance music and to support local DJs as a fanbase is very rewarding for us as this ties in closely to what our personal aims and objectives are as a charity. It promotes people and talent before anything else, and that’s what makes this recurring event stand out as a true grassroots, community driven project.. This community’s generous support to 5th Element through donations is remarkable, as it allows us to continue to run a sustainable event white providing vital funds for us to create outreach projects and community jams, pay for supplies and equipment, not to mention keeping the lights on, and music playing. The vision of Plan B fully supports the vision of 5th Element; To bring music, art and dance to the people and have the people bring love, support and passion to our charity. This symbiotic relationship continues to strengthen with more and more esteemed DJs joining the line ups to support the idea and ethos behind 5th Element and Plan B. **Rio Ferdinand collaboration** - Connecting and working with this prestigious charity resulting in 5th Element member, Darryl Forsythe, recently being hired as Head of Programming, as a result of his experience gained at 5th Element NI. This connection between the 2 charities will offer much more opportunities for collaboration, and on some prestigious events and projects. We look forward to seeing what 2024 brings. ## **Independent examiner’s report to the charity trustees of 5[th] Element.** I report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 01 April 2023. Respective responsibilities of charity trustees and examiner. As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. It is my responsibility to:  examine the accounts under section 65 of the Charities Act  follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Commission under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act  state whether particular matters have come to my attention. ## **Basis of independent examiner’s report** I have examined your charity accounts as required under section 65 of the Charities Act and my examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act. My examination included a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also included consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as charity trustees concerning any such matters. My role is to state whether any material matters have come to my attention giving me cause to believe: 1. That accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 63 of the Charities Act 2. That the accounts do not accord with those accounting records 3. That the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act 4. That there is further information needed for a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. ## **Independent examiner’s statement** I have completed my examination and have no concerns in respect of the matters (1) to (4) listed above and, in connection with following the Directions of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, I have found no matters that require drawing to your attention. Sean Patrick Martin Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland Membership number 011134 45B Deramore Park Belfast BT9 5JX Belfast 16 February 2024 Reviewed by: Paul Ashford (Chairman/Director) Darryl Forsythe (Secretary/Director) ## **5th Element NI**