Birmingham has put young people at the heart of local government reform in the belief its better to do things with young people than to them.
| Young people need nice places with good facilities, not tin huts. |
Since an inaugural meeting last December, over a hundred young people from Birminghams estates, youth clubs, drop-in centres, mosques and schools have joined forces in the citys first ever youth council. Their mission? To give decision-makers the inside story on why young people turn to violence, joy-riding and drug-taking to get their kicks, and pave the way for change.
Too often a solution is one-sided and it doesnt work, explains Harry Fowler, head of Birmingham City Councils youth affairs team who are behind the initiative. Instead of alienating young people, our attitude is lets get others involved.
Fowler believes local authorities are finally waking up to the idea that young people themselves are best placed to say what would keep them entertained and out of trouble. Often the street is where things are happening. I'm not sure you can keep young people off the street if there aren't other places for them to go which are welcoming, affordable and safe. They need nice places with good facilities, not tin huts.
Resources in the city are already being diverted to better meet young peoples needs. Most people who used to use youth clubs were young men. We couldnt just carry on spending our 5 million budget on one group, Fowler says. Rather than just open more clubs, we have set up projects targeting different sections of our communities. We now have culturally specific projects are aimed at young black people or young women or Asian young people, and others attacking drugs or looking at homelessness. We have more and more of these specialist projects running.
With the future of over 200,000 children and 250 different youth projects across the city in the frame, there is much at stake.
About the team
This article was produced by Dawn Fenemer, 18, Domini Gouldbourne, 14, Leena Chakraborty, 14, Naomi Thompson, 13, and Sarah-Louise Foster, 13. It was published in Local Government Voice Solo.
