Stephen Lawrence centre opens as 'living memorial'

The Stephen Lawrence Centre, built in memory of the black teenager murdered by a racist gang, officially opened its doors today.

Mayor Ken Livingstone used the launch of the flagship educational centre in Deptford to condemn the "extraordinary" failure to bring Stephen's killers to justice. The 18-yearold was killed in 1993.

Mr Livingstone said the project would "serve as a living memorial to his aspirations". Stephen wanted to become an architect and the centre has already worked with thousands of young Londoners, organising courses aimed at getting them into jobs and on schemes in fields such as architecture, maths, science and engineering.

Prince Charles, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Lib-Dem leader Nick Cleggwere among those who sent messages of support to the centre, which was designed by Britain's leading black architect, David Adjaye, built on budget and opened on time.

Mr Livingstone said: "The racist murder of Stephen Lawrence was a terrible tragedy for his family and a crime against community relations.

"It is extraordinary that his killers have not been brought to justice. The failings of the original police investigationand the inquiry that followed, have transformed the understanding of the depth of the problem of institutional racism in many of our most important institutions.

"The opening of this centre in his name will serve as a living memorial to his aspirations and be a beacon for young people, who might otherwise not get the chance, wanting to develop their skills and contribute to the wider community through architecture and design."

Karin Woodley, chief executive of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust said the centre had already worked with around 2,500 14- to 25-year-olds since it started work last year.

Although it was set up to boost black applications to white-dominated careers, Ms Woodley said it was also working with growing numbers of white working-class boys and planned to become a nationally known brand for helping all young people from inner-city environments achieve success.

Among the ground-breaking projects the centre is involved in is a scheme to cut drop-out rates among black and other ethnic minority architecture students. Ms Woodley said that although they accounted for 18 per cent of entrants on to architecture degrees - a "disproportionately high" percentage - drop-out rates were high.

The trust has helped 55 architecture students over the past nine years with bursaries for maintenance, materials, fees and field trips so that they can stay in education. In 2008-9, it plans to expand the number of pupils and students it works with to 12,000, or 250 a week, up from about 200 a week now.