Youth safety top priority at young people’s events
Young people shared their views about youth safety and other issues of importance to them with local decision-makers at the annual Camden Youth Shout Out event last night.
About 100 young people aged 11 to 19 attended Shout Out on Thursday 22 November, where the main theme was ‘What’s happening on our streets?’ It followed the publication of the Camden Youth Safety Taskforce report, which sets out 17 recommendations to promote youth safety.
‘Lives, not knives’ and ‘young people and the police - breaking down barriers’ were two of the workshop topics at Shout Out, which was held at the Crowndale Centre, in Camden. Two other workshops at the fully-booked event covered mental health and the world of work. Guest speakers included former Downing Street Press Secretary and Camden resident Alistair Campbell, Council Leader Cllr Georgia Gould, and local resident Aydarus Ahmed, who lost three family members to youth violence.
Camden Youth Shout Out was jointly organised by Camden Youth Council and Camden Council’s youth service.
Takeover Challenge - 30 November
Youth safety is also one of the key topics for discussion at the Young People’s Takeover Challenge, which is also being held at the Crowndale Centre, on 30 November, for schoolchildren aged 11 to 14. More than 60 pupils from Camden primary and secondary schools are due to attend. This event is for invited schools only.
Other workshops at Takeover Challenge will include finding more active ways to travel, the ‘self-care’ approach to wellbeing, journalism and the local media, as well as opportunities in science, tech, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM) subjects and careers.
At both Shout Out and Takeover Challenge children and young people will have the chance to present their ideas to a panel of community leaders and decision-makers, including local politicians, senior council officers and representatives from the police.
Camden Deputy Youth MP Asma Maloumi said:
“Young people need to be nurtured and protected in an environment where resorting to violence is never an option. Not only this, but making sure the safety of our young people is prioritised is interlinked with other prominent issues - mental health and the development of their potential.
“By expanding the discussion, both young people and those responsible for the big decisions can reach small but achievable goals that, in turn, will see less knives and protect more lives.”
Councillor Abdul Hai, Cabinet Member for Young People and Cohesion, said:
"Coming to Shout Out and the Takeover Challenge to make their voices heard shows young people’s commitment and belief in the value of high quality services and support, including good youth services, schools and support for young people’s mental health and career development.
"Thank you to the Youth MP, Youth Council and our young people's participation workers who work behind the scenes to help make all this happen. We want to make sure that we continue to invest in youth services so that Camden remains a great place to grow up."
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