Archive for the ‘young people’ tag
Intergenerational working
Robert Bullard The Guardian, Wednesday April 9 2008
Studley, in Warwickshire, is a village that on the surface has no shortage of facilities for young people; there are sports clubs, youth clubs and a leisure centre. But many local teenagers complained that the prices were too high, leaving them with little choice but to hang around the streets. Until recently, many villagers regarded them as typical of modern youngsters: hanging around and probably using bad language and being disruptive. But all that changed when a new project, pioneered by Stratford-on-Avon district council, attempted to bridge the generation gap between young and old.
Joanne Rooke, the council’s community engagement officer, says young people in rural areas can get drawn into antisocial behaviour because there is often little for them to do, which is compounded by a lack of trust between younger and older generations. She spearheaded the first phase of the intergenerational scheme in autumn 2006 with a cookery project, bringing together a group of 14 boys and older men.
Altered images
Young people and local politicians are using their mobiles to help change attitudes and share lives
Robert Bullard
Wednesday July 19, 2006
Five young people and five councillors in Norfolk have used their mobile phones in an effort to engage more young people in the region’s democratic process. They have taken photos that illustrate their everyday lives and shared them online (www.norfolklifeswap.org.uk).
Vivienne Clifford-Jackson, Liberal Democrat leader of South Norfolk district council, says using mobile phones offered the district council and Norfolk county council, which is also taking part, a way to reach out to young people using a method and language that they were used to. “We tend to think of young people as just a nuisance, and where crime comes from,” she says.
