Discover Young Hackney '09 kicked off in spectacular style at the Hackney Empire in an 'X-factor' style talent show.

Discover Young Hackney is a two-month long cultural festival which engages thousands of young people in Hackney. The talent contest for Hackney's most talented young people is produced by two local young men Shaw and Edwards, trainee producers from the Hackney Empire. Supported by the festival's young cultural ambassadors – local young people who act as our eyes and ears on what’s hot and what’s not – this year’s show went up another gear; or two.

The show, aptly named 'I'm in – Don't chase the competition, chase the dream', was so packed full of talent this year that Shaw and Edwards had the unenviable task of finding a way to accommodate all the acts. Watch out Mr Cowell!

The night was a sell out and judging by the roars from the crowd everyone had a great night. I don't think I've ever seen so much young Hackney talent in one place at the same.

It didn't take long for the media to track us down either – BBC London Radio invited one of our Cultural Ambassadors into the studio on the day of the launch for a live interview! Was he nervous? Not a bit. All in a day's work.

So, what's the secret behind the success of Discover Young Hackney? I'd love to shed some fascinating insight with you but I'm afraid the answer is straightforward: listen and include what young people want, not what we think they want or what we want them to want.

The activities lined up for this year's festival are broader and more inclusive than ever. From 14 February to 14 March, local young people aged 11-19 have the chance to sample a series of free tasters, workshops and events led by Hackney's vibrant cultural and creative industries sector.

The themes of the festival are 'Internationalism' and 'Disability Arts', or to some it up in one: 'One Festival for Everyone'. The aim is to raise curiosity – young people can for example make a film in a day at the Rio Cinema, take a Point Blank master class in how to promote themselves in the media, discover Newtoy's acclaimed underwater sound art event, build their own African den and admire Hackney’s life size mud hut at SPACE galleries, or see their fashion ideas come to life at the London College of Fashion.

As well as a vibrant blog of our own, we are working hard to reach young people in other ways as well. Our cultural providers have been working with national disability arts organisation Shape and creative conflict resolution company deep:Black to make Discover Young Hackney as inclusive as possible. One of the most fascinating things I have ever seen was the sign language performer working her way through a mix of song, rap and comedy improvisation at our launch event. She became part of the performance and the audience became one, cheering and whooping throughout the show; a true example of social inclusion.

Testament to the success of Discover Young Hackney, it has joined London 2012's Inspire programme and bears the 'Inspire' mark which recognises the festival’s achievements in making arts and cultural activities more accessible to local young people and inspiring them to broaden their horizons. It's great news for Hackney and the festival.

Don't take my word for anything I have said. Come and see it for yourself.