Bradford Youth Summit

Bradford Youth Development Partnership is an experienced voluntary sector organisation, limited company with charitable status. It has a seven year track record in managing creative innovative project and pilots with 8 – 25 year olds across the district, particularly in areas of deprivation. It has secured and managed programmes of work for the European Structural Funds, the Big Lottery, New Deal in the Community and Comic Relief. It is the lead body for Recharge, a consortium of 12 organisations providing Personal development Opportunities to hard to reach young people aged 13 – 19.

The charity employs a Connexions Personal Advisor and has two Bradford wide projects that responses to emerging needs in Bradford with a localised designed programme in consultation with young people. The organisation has launched Youth Fusion across Bradford for young people aged 8 to 13 years of age which is a concept of safe spaces for young people to interact and learn new skills and experiences.

Bradford Youth Development Partnership has delivered the Junior Youth Inclusion Programmed for 8 – 13 year olds in Manningham and Girlington through its PALZ project for over three years. It works in close partnership with the local voluntary sector, Youth Inclusion Support Unit and Youth Offending Team and has supported over 150 young people through this scheme. In Bradford South, North and West, BYDP has managed the Neighbourhood Youth Team funded through the lottery, ESF and New Deal in Communities and the success of the project has led to a continuation of the project part funded through New Deal and Sports Relief. The traineeship programme is based on second chance opportunities for local young people aged 18 – 25 years training to be youth and community workers whilst they deliver peer education work to other local young people.

Bradford Youth Development Partnership hosts a safeguarding children’s worker on behalf on the voluntary youth sector and is an Assessment Centre for the Open College Network Accreditation. The charity is governed by a Board of Directors which is reflected in the partnership of the organisation, Police, Health, University, Youth Service and the Voluntary Sector and then has various sub groups and steering groups of young people whom influence the work of the partnership.

Bradford has the fastest growing youth population which inevitably makes demands on limited resources and brings new and emerging trends/issues that need additional resources and new methods of working. Bradford has a good record of consultation with groups of young people in localised neighbourhoods and those involved in some kind of meaningful engagement.

This paper proposes that Bradford holds a Youth Summit a partnership of JRF, BYDP and Education Bradford to consult with young people across the Bradford Metropolitan District Council to glean a picture of how Bradford is perceived by young people, what are the key priorities organisations who hold portfolios of work with young people should focus on and how young people believe work should be developed on the cohesion and shared futures agenda.

The format of the day will be a combination of short key note speakers, interactive workshops, video dairies and concluding in the evening with an invite back to the young people to a formal dinner with entertainment in reward for their contribution.

The proposal highlights that the Youth Summit should be held at the Abundant Life Centre Conference facilities encouraging mobilization of young people across Bradford to a venue not usually accessed by mainstream young people breaking down barriers to engagement through stereotype by faith.

Through Education Bradford all secondary schools will be invited to be represented at the event by ten young people from year 11, each school will be given a brief and will be encouraged to recruit a cross representative of young people from their school year to contribute and participate in the Bradford Youth Summit.

Education Bradford- Acting Head of Community Cohesion- Jani Rashid has highlighted that they would be committed to partnership working on the Bradford Youth Summit and welcome the learning that would come from the event to influence the citizenship curriculum for schools and supplementary schools in Bradford.

Bradford Youth Development Partnership- Director - Salima Hafejee strongly believes that to develop innovative responses to children and young peoples services in Bradford young people have to be at the heart of the process of informing shaping what those services should look like.