Making our voices heard

The North East is a unique and wonderful place to live and work with so many positives ranging from the fantastic environment to the cost of living. As a region we have been thinking hard about what makes us different and how that should shape the way in which we work with children, young people and their families. The strengths of community, identity, creativity and passion cannot be underestimated and should shape our aspirations and ambitions for the future.

I have to confess at this stage I have only lived in the region for the last three years, so I'm technically still an outsider, but it certainly doesn't feel like that in my adopted home. I have been really struck by the natural resources that are evident in the region and also how little I understood it before I moved here. I think that lack of awareness, particularly from policy makers is something that has created a frustration for the region. To rectify this, we have started to make a conscious effort to have our voice heard and champion the region nationally as far as possible. We are geographically a long way from London but that can't be a barrier to being heard (and some of us are quite loud!).