Last week, (June 25th) myself and a number of colleagues attended the State of London Debate held at Central Hall, Westminster. The crux of the agenda was concerned with increasing opportunities for Young Londoners.
The
debate was chaired by Jennette Arnold and the panel of speakers included the
newly appointed Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Ray Lewis who has been appointed
to lead the policy strategy to meet the Mayor’s Manifesto with respect to the
issues facing young people, Munira Mirza who similarly has been appointed to
lead the policy strategy for Arts and Culture, and Ross Kemp actor and
documentary author who is considered to be influential in the area of gangs and
gang culture.
As pointed
out by a fellow compatriot it was deeply concerning not to see a young person
on the panel of speakers, as to truly tackle the issues facing young people and
to successfully promote opportunities for young people it is intrinsically
important for young people to be consulted on policy matters. Hence, young
people become involved in the formation of policy appropriate to them. This is
key strand of empowerment and also directly aligned to the ethos here at
Beatbullying.
The debate
commenced with the view that the vast majority of children and young people are
participating in positive initiatives and are largely law abiding. In addition
to this, it is a very small minority who are involved in crime, which is
unfortunately focused on and exacerbated by the media portraying a negative
image of all young people, which in turn arguably impacts on the behaviours of
young people. Both my personal and professional opinion champions this view and
I further proclaim that the many positives associated with young people should
be accentuated.
There were a
number of key undertones that continued to arise throughout the duration of the
debate. Funding seemed to be a key issue with a number of organisations
concerned with the levels of investment in programmes promoting positive
opportunities. Furthermore I certainly advocate Ross Kemp’s comments on peer to
peer mentoring as a solution in tackling child on child violence. The key
strategy for decision makers is to target the root of the problem at the bottom
of the pyramid as well as the policy and legislation at the top of the pyramid.
Bullying was also a key undertone of the debate and is arguably the root of the
issues discussed above. Moreover bullying is detrimental to the life chances of
children and young people and a key concern for young people as demonstrated at
the debate by young people themselves. It is therefore imperative for key
decision makers to pledge significant contribution to bullying prevention and
roll out a proven prevention model throughout London to combat child on child
violence issues.
We heard a
number of emotive statements from people who have directly felt the effects and
consequences of child on child violence, which was terribly sad.
The most
inspiring aspect of the event was the number of children and young people
demonstrating excellent public speaking skills and delivering comments that I
can learn from as a young adult. I believe that this leads to an appropriate
conclusion as young people’s ability to make a change is clearly evident and
was evident on the night.
~Thaddaeus
Douglas – Beatbullying’s Policy and Research Officer
oh...!
that is a good news!
I hope I am none of them.:)
Posted by: online job | December 05, 2011 at 06:15 PM