Bulletin 28 May 2010

Making an Impact – Report from Northern Rock Foundation

The Northern Rock Foundation has released the final report into their work on Making an Impact –Measuring and Encouraging the Progress of Individuals in Voluntary Sector Youth Projects. The report can be found on the Foundation’s website.

The work, carried out by Kerry Young, a well-known writer on youth work issues, involved contacting and interviewing a range of voluntary youth organisations across the region. The information in the report will be of value to both the statutory and voluntary youth sector, and includes useful examples of models to measure impact with young people.

A date for a launch event for the report will be announced soon, and it is hoped that there will be a regional seminar on the findings of the report, in the Autumn.

London 2012

Do you have an event, a workshop, an exhibition, a performance taking place between 23-25 July 2010?
London 2012 Open Weekend: Be part of it!

What: the countdown to the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games: 2 years to go! Be part of Open Weekend and join hundreds of organisations from across the UK celebrating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Where: Across the UK

Why: Open Weekend is your chance to celebrate with London 2012 and the rest of the country. It is an opportunity for organisations to be inspired and inspire others.
Being part of Open Weekend means you will receive access to an exclusive branding toolkit and benefit from the national marketing and PR plan which last year included a supplement in a national paper.

To find out more and register your event, go to www.london2012.com/openweekend

Be part of it!  Open Weekend 2010 and Discovering Places: 23-25th July, marking the countdown to the London 2012 Games.  2 years to go!
t: 0191 255 8535
m: 07545 419784
e: lorna.fulton@london2012.com

CTRL.ALT.SHIFT – Football tournaments

Throughout June and July, Platform2 and Ctrl.Alt.Shift will be hosting Ctrl.Alt.Strike football tournaments. The tournament will be celebrating the World Cup being hosted in South Africa, whilst at the same time raising awareness about development issues affecting the host country…

* South Africa has 5.7 million people – or 12 per cent of the total population – infected with HIV/Aids according to official figures

* As many as 40,000 women could enter South Africa to work as prostitutes during this year’s football World Cup, officials have warned (Telegraph)

*At 140 rand (£12.40), even the cheapest tickets for group games are beyond the reach of many people in a country where the average monthly wage is estimated at just over 2,700 rand and tickets for a Premier League match typically costs 20 rand. Among the black population, who make up by far the majority at matches, the monthly average wage is 1,620 rand (Guardian). The tournament will be held on July 3rd at Complete Football in Gosforth. We’re looking for 20 mixed teams of 18-30 year olds, 5 aside with squad of 8. Entry is £1.00 per player and you can register to play by emailing strikenewcastle@ctrlaltshift.co.uk .

There will also be a speed cage, free food for players, and a bar to watch the World Cup quarter final live after footy!

Don’t miss this tournament, it’s going to be a good one- strike it!

Bulletin 21 May 2010

UMT Beats – Music training programme (16 – 24 year olds)

UMT BEATS is an exclusive music training programme aimed at 16-24 year olds living in Newcastle, offering the chance to create, record and perform new material, produce high profile events and train to a professional standard.

The course takes place on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons between 4.00pm – 8.00pm at the Newcastle Arts Centre in the studio on the 1st floor. It runs for 12 weeks.  Over the course, our two tutors Mark and Adika run through various DJing and Music Production methods to help students to build their skills in these areas.  They also provide valuable help to develop musical skills and career goals.  The course is also now Arts Award accredited and the participants will gain the related qualifications (equivalent of NVQ Level 1).

There are only limited spaces for this free course, this is so that each person can have good contact time with each of the tutors and their attention can be distributed equally and fairly.

Helen would really appreciate it if you could pass on the details of the course to any 16-24 year-old Newcastle residents you might be working with.  The next course runs from August 3rd – October 21st, with 4 courses per year.

For any more information on UMT BEATS, feel free to get in touch or contact Helen’s colleague Bob Allan on (0191) 255 4468. You can also find information on UMT BEATS and other UMT courses at www.generator.org.uk/UMT

Hopefully they can arrange for participants to meet with our tutors and enroll on the next UMT BEATS course.

Equality and Human Rights Commission Report

Please see link to the final report of the research project that Depaul UK have been involved in regarding personalised care for young men at risk of suicide. This research was funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission as part of a wider national project, and Vision Sense were commissioned to carry out the study in the N.E. Region in partnership with Depaul UK.

Depaul UK would like to say thank you to all the staff who helped to disseminate and complete the questionnaires referring to direct payments. The results section for this is in the report on page 51. Thank you to all the young people who gave their opinions and talked about their experiences either through questionnaires or focus groups. All those who participated were entered into a prize draw which was drawn at the end of March. The winner of the Ipod was Paul Chrisp, who is involved in Depaul’s Drive Ahead project.

3 young men from the Compass and Insite projects, Jack Blackwell, Dan Dennis and Lee Hardie helped to design the questionnaires and focus groups. At the end of March, they went to Manchester to a Department of Health conference to present some of their ideas on personalised care, and led two workshops with conference delegates.

In the next few weeks, Depaul UK will be discussing the next steps to this project, such as running pilots of the “Volunteer Friends” model that came of the focus groups (see pages 54 and 69). They also look forward to seeing how the Equality and Human Rights Commission follow up the research findings.

If you would like to hear more about this research project, or ask any questions, please direct them to Jane Freeman, Mental Health Resource Worker, on the address below, or Susie Balderston, Policy & Training Director, Vision Sense: susie@visionsense.co.uk<mailto:susie@visionsense.co.uk>

Depaul UK hope you find this report to be a worthwhile read and would be interested to hear any comments you have.

No Power Hour:: Short Term Volunteering opportunity for young people (16 – 25 year old)

No Power Hour is an environmental programme that encourages children across the country to switch off technology for one hour a day and do an activity that doesn’t use power.

npower has teamed up with v, the young volunteers’ service, to bring the concept of No Power Hour to primary schools in Newcastle between June and July 2010.

The programme is being delivered in 8 schools in each city to children in their final year of primary school (year 6).  This is an exciting opportunity for volunteers to support the climate change agenda by helping children to find alternative ways of spending their time, that doesn’t involve using energy.

No Power Hour School Motivators will work in small groups to facilitate classroom/outdoor activities in 8 schools in each city.  The role will be to motivate year 6 children during their final weeks of primary school to be creative and take part in four engaging and inspiring activities which require no power, such as playing urban cricket and designing environmental posters.

Volunteers will be required to attend 2 days training in Newcastle on the 14th and 15th June.

There will be four structured activities which Motivators will be trained to deliver and bring their own sense of creativity to.   Each of the four sessions will be delivered each week between 21st June and16 July 2010 during school hours.

If this volunteering opportunity appeals to you then please read the attached information. You will need to register your interest as soon as possible by returning the application form to jane.williamson@vinspired.com or to No Power Hour, Changemakers, Suite 16, John Buddle Work Village, Buddle Road, Newcastle, NE4 8AW.

If you want to meet in person to discuss the opportunity further, phone Jane on 01912267330 or 07534888344 and she would be happy to come and talk to you at your own convenience. Jane would also welcome the opportunity to come and speak to groups of young people at the same time, so if you have any meetings planned that she could attend please let her know.

Bulletin 14 May 2010

Salto Training

A new training offer has been published in SALTO’s European Training Calendar.
Date: 2010-05-08
Title: Training course on Children Rights promoting Emancipation (Human Rights Education as a tool to deconstruct Social Exclusion)
From 2010-08-30 to 2010-09-08 in Spain
Activity type: Training course
Target groups: Project managers, Young people, Youth leaders, Youth workers
For participants from: Austria, Belgium – DE, Belgium – FL, Belgium – FR, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom

For detailed information, please have a look at http://www.salto-youth.net/find-a-training/1812.html

Platform 2: Final Departure, October 2010

Platform2 sends young people (aged 18-25 at time of departure) away on 10-week trips to developing countries such as Ghana, South Africa, India or Peru where they take part in community volunteer projects. Upon their return to the UK, Platform2 works with those same volunteers to raise awareness of poverty and global issues in their local communities in creative ways best suited to the individual volunteers. Platform2 is fully funded, meaning there are no costs to the participants!

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to volunteer overseas for free with the last ever Platform2 trip! Funding for the Platform2 program comes to an end in December this year, meaning the final trip will be in October……

Apply by the 14th June 2010 to depart the week commencing 11th October, return week commencing 20th December
Check out the website http://www.myplatform2.com or call the free phone number for information 0800 988 68 28 or Lizzie on 0191 2280115

A call for young film makers

The Village Screen project, part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, is looking for a mix of inspiring, funny, original and challenging films from young film makers, aged 12 to 24, to show on our big screens (252m) at the Glastonbury Festival, Wednesday 23rd – Sunday 27th June 2010. The Village Screen North East contribution is supported by Northern Film & Media.

They are looking for films in the following categories:

• Welcome the World – an open call for silent films with a purely visual narrative, celebrating the values of the Olympic Games:  Friendship, Courage, Determination, Excellence, Equality, Respect, Inspiration
• Hug the Planet – supported by Natural England, in the International Year of Biodiversity, an open call for films with a strong visual narrative (not reliant on dialogue to get your story across), focussing on creative and innovative approaches to the five themes of sustainability in the natural world: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Healthy Living, Inclusion and Waste.

For further information contact London 2012: Lorna Fulton on lorna.fulton@artscouncil.org.uk or tel: 0191 255 8535

Bulletin 7 May 2010

Child Poverty: a Challenge for the UK and a Challenge for the North East

The University of Sunderland Centre for Children, Young people and Families is pleased to announce a seminar on Thursday 13 May 2010
In St Peter’s Campus, Prospect Building, Lecture Theatre 009, from 5.00 pm to 6.30 pm, (Refreshments at 4.30 pm in Lower Cafeteria)
By MR Martin Nary
Chief Executive of Barnado’s
To reserve a place at this Seminar please email: freda.brown@sunderland.ac.uk

Ethical issues in youth work

Durham University & Regional Youth Work Unit- North East
Tuesday 13th July 2010, 10.30 – 16.30
Holgate House, Grey College, Durham University, South Road, Durham. DH1 3LG
This conference offers an opportunity to discuss and debate some of the key ethical issues facing youth workers, the young people they work with and managers and policymakers who oversee work with young people. With the development of integrated youth support services in local authorities, information-sharing between professionals and agencies, commissioning relationships with the voluntary sector, the ever present public concern about young people as problems and victims, the youth worker’s role is ever more challenging. The conference is occasioned by the publication of the 2nd edition of the book, Ethical Issues in Youth Work (Routledge), due to be published in June 2010.

The day will involve some of the contributors to the book and other national speakers with an interest in youth work in a panel discussion, followed by afternoon workshops covering issues such as:
•    when to breach confidentiality
•    information sharing in inter-professional contexts
•    the ethics of youth participation and active citizenship
•    how to balance the roles of control, empowerment and education
•    negotiating personal and professional values, interests and commitments
•    dilemmas for faith-based and black and minority ethnic workers
•    issues for practitioner researchers.

Programme inquiries: Sarah Banks, 0191 3341497

Downloadable booking form and programme is available on the website: http://www.dur.ac.uk/sass/

Film Nation: Shorts

Film Nation: Shorts is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the next generation of young film makers. The best work will be screened at the iconic venues during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to an audience of millions.

The project gives 11-25 year olds the chance to make films celebrating the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Annual regional and national awards ceremonies between now and 2012 will celebrate the best work.  The best of the best will be screened at venues during the 2012 Games, as well as on giant Live Site screens around the UK, on the London 2012 website, and on a dedicated Film Nation website.  Panasonic is the presenting partner for the programme, supplying state-of-the-art equipment and expertise for training sessions taking place across the UK.

Learning from experts
Film Nation: Shorts is not just a competition; it is also a chance for young people to meet professional film makers and learn new skills using the latest state-of-the-art Panasonic equipment.

A programme of 100 free workshops will run around the UK. More details of the workshops and a series of free online film making resources will be available on the Film Nation: Shorts website from June. Register for information about the workshops

Entering the competition
11 -25 year olds are invited to create short films (of no longer than three minutes) that celebrate the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games: respect, courage, excellence, friendship, equality, determination and inspiration.

Your film can be a documentary, drama, animation… it’s up to you.

Submissions will open in June when the project website goes live. If you’ve already got some film making skills then what are you waiting for? The next deadline for the competition is 1 October 2010, so start getting creative…

Click here for further details, including maps, bus routes and time tables and further information on our office & meeting space.

Contact: Joanna Makepeace, Content & Learning Co-ordinator

Telephone: 0191 2755 966  Fax: 0191 2755 931

Email: joanna@northernmedia.org Website: www.northernmedia.org

NAVCA to deliver an “Empowering the Voluntary Sector” workshop in conjunction with Children England

“How to use public law and Compact to protect your project”

20 May 2010 – 9.30 am – 4.00 pm
at  Pelaw View Centre, Hilda Avenue, Durham  DH1 2EH.

This workshop is delivered as part of the partnership project between NAVCA, Compact Advocacy and the Public Law Project and cover key aspects of the refreshed national Compact.

To date we have trained around 1500 people from third sector organisations in the principles of Public Law. In the three years of the project, the Public Law Project supported over 400 local organisations, their advice and support prevented over £600,000 being lost to the sector in cuts from public bodies.

You may be lucky enough to be able to put your new found confidence into practice straight away, like Jo from Salford, who successfully challenged her Local Authority the day after attending the Public Law Project’s workshop at the annual conference. Jo succeeded in putting Salford CVS in the driving seat by being asked to draft the process to be followed by all Commissioners when looking at service level agreement renewals. I’m sure it won’t be a surprise to hear that they have ensured it is fair to the sector and contains all the things that they want to see happen.

Other attendees have gone home at the end of the day feeling empowered and confident that they too could ensure a fair process at their Local Authority, and have expressed their relief at finally finding the information they needed to help them negotiate successfully with local public bodies:

“I have been waiting for a course like this for the last 5 years!”

“Excellent, exactly met both my needs and those of my organisation”

“It’s time the VCS had the tools to effectively stick up for itself, this course goes some way to doing that”

“Best and most useful course I have attended for ages”

You can download the projects newsletters and information leaflet as well as finding out about the free legal advice line run by the Compact Advocacy in conjunction with the Public Law Project as part of this project from www.navca.org.uk/evs.

The group will be limited to 15 participants, so we suggest you get your place booked as soon as possible.  There is no charge for this event.

To book a place on this event please contact:

Amanda Brown, 01388 816166 Ext 4637, Amanda.Brown@durham.gov.uk

Bulletin 30 April 2010

Salto Youth Training

Title: International Inspiration- contact making seminar for professionals working with youth in care
From 2010-06-14 to 2010-06-17 in Norway
Activity type: Contact making seminar
Target groups: Youth workers
For participants from: ALL YOUTH IN ACTION PROGRAMME COUNTRIES
For detailed information, please have a look at http://www.salto-youth.net/find-a-training/1803.html

Newcastle Youth Council Elections

Newcastle Youth Council Elections will take place over ten days from 7th June to 17th June and wondering if you might be able to help publicise through your networks and your bulletin both the call for candidates and the elections.

We are currently seeking candidates to stand in the election. Candidates must be aged 13 to 18 inclusive and either live, work or study in the Newcastle local authority area. Most candidates will stand for election in the area in which they live (central – postcodes NE1, NE2, NE4; north – postcodes NE3, NE13; west – postcodes NE5, NE15; east – postcodes NE6, NE7). Candidates who don’t live in Newcastle will be eligible to stand in the area in which they work or study. We are particularly encouraging people to stand whose voice is not normally heard.

For more information or application forms please do not hesitate to get in touch by calling 0191 2733 997.  Access 2010 elections.

The Galloping Stone

The Galloping Stone: reflections on creative work with victims of torture’ St Chad’s College, Durham University, 18 North Bailey, Durham, DH1 3RH

May 10th, 7.30 pm.

This event is jointly organized by St Chad’s College and the Centre for Social Justice and Community Action.

The poet, Gillian Allnutt, who has been writer in Residence at the North East Centre for the Medical Foundation for the Care of the Victims of Torture, along with Margaret Bird, a counsellor with the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture (North East) based in Newcastle, will give accounts of their work with asylum seekers and refugees. Their clients at the Medical Foundation are all torture survivors and asylum seekers. Gillian and Margaret will talk from their respective viewpoints as counsellor and writer, sometimes working with the same clients, and about the effect this often difficult work has had on their own lives.

A particular focus of the evening will be the beautiful, moving slim volume of writing from clients, staff and volunteers – The Galloping Stone – for details see:

http://www.newwritingnorth.com/shop/shop.php?section=1

The evening will start in St Chad’s College Chapel (7.30pm – 8.30pm) with a discussion entitled ‘The Galloping Stone: reflections on creative work with victims of torture’. Questions about the work and the issues it raises will be welcome.

Drinks and light refreshments will then served in the Senior Common Room from 8.30pm

How to find St Chad’s College

http://www.dur.ac.uk/stchads.conference/durmap.htm

ALL WELCOME

Any queries, please contact socialjustice@durham.ac.uk