Goals: To help young people make a difference on the sociopolitical issues that concern them.
Funding: Bridge House Estates Trust Foundation is providing 38,000 a year for three years. The European Commission has provided a one-off grant of 100,000 euros (66,318). Carnegie UK Trust has donated 7,500 over two years.
While young people have strongly held views, they often lack the opportunity to get those views across to the powers that be. Youth Act! attempts to bridge that gap by giving young people in the London boroughs of Haringey and Islington the skills to make the world sit up and listen.
Since its launch last September, the project has got young people, recruited mainly from schools and youth centres, campaigning on a whole range of issues, from improving school meals to opposing gun crime in Tottenham.
Project manager Carrie Supple says the campaigns make a difference. "We had anti-bullying and anti-mobile phone theft campaigns last year that went equally well," she says. "ITN came over to film the mobile phone campaign and some of the young people on the bullying campaign became peer mentors dealing with bullying."
The project trains young people to run a successful campaign. Topics include how to write press releases and how to identify key decision-makers.
An adult works with each group to motivate and support their campaigning work.
Supple says the campaigns benefit the young people. "They get a sense of making a difference and they also have a good time doing it, which is always key to good youth work. It improves their confidence and ability to represent themselves," she explains. Zak, 14, who took part in one of the project's campaigns last week, said: "It has shown me that small people do have powers and sometimes grown-ups don't realise, but we do."
The project is looking to expand into Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark.
- Got a project to share? Call Tristan Donovan 020 8267 4719, tristan.donovan@haynet.com.
