Charnwood Youth Conference 14th October 2009
Loughborough Town Hall.
By Anjali, Poppie, Michael & Dominic
Well, here we are at 2009’s Charnwood Youth Conference, their third conference aimed at raising awareness of the excellent work they’ve done over the years on behalf of young people in the area. Approximately 50 young people have made the journey to Loughborough’s impressive Town Hall venue to discuss the issues that affect young people in the area, and hopefully, make a positive difference.
So what are the aims of the conference, or rather what issues do they want to focus on. Historically, the aims have typically been transport, facilities and crime / safety, so are the same issues still top of the list? Those three issues were certainly mentioned along with some new ones such as having secure bins, cleaner streets (with more lighting), more drinking fountains available in public places and more park benches. Specifically for young people, designated Graffiti walls / art projects were mentioned along with more facilities such as Restaurants / Sports Halls / Bowling Alley. Also, one of the biggest problems is the black hole of music that is Leicestershire. If you were to go to Wolverhampton’s Civic Hall or Wulfrun, or even Nottingham’s legendary Rock City or Royal Concert Hall, there are gigs running every week, rock, pop, and contemporary. It seems a lot of bands on tour just seem to disregard Leicestershire.
Transport has always been an issue, and not one that’s easy to solve, taxi fares are understandably too expensive for young people, and the bus service run on Sundays is inadequate. And those who might be lucky enough to own their own cars, free parking, or rather the lack of it was also an annoyance.
By way of background, CYCLe’s (County Youth Council for Leicestershire) Pyramid of Participation video was shown to the audience so that they could get a greater understanding of how the Youth Councils are organised in Leicestershire. The groups of young people were then asked what they would like to change in their immediate area / where they live, with similar result to before being voiced. Attendees were also told about the yearly residential, which for the most part have taken part at the Brathay venue, as well as an explanation of the Youth Council’s executive, and the democratic process of how those are elected..
All in all a fantastic day, organised by the Youth Council, so well done! And hopefully we'll see some people from the conference joining you soon!
