Vision for Young Londoners to 2025
15 July 2015
Wednesday 15 July 2015
Today, a group of organisations co-ordinated by London Youth, Partnership for Young London and London Funders will launch a Vision for Young Londoners to 2025. Over 40 providers of housing, youth services, health, education, sport and the arts have contributed to the Vision which will be officially launched at the London Eye.
London offers so many opportunities for young people. But at the same time too many young Londoners face barriers – from poverty to poor housing and mental and physical health – which stop them taking advantage of those opportunities. So the Vision is designed to galvanise all of the different players who have a stake in helping all young people to access those opportunities, so that we are all working in the same direction.
The Vision calls for collaboration across London to transform opportunities for young people.
Rosie Ferguson, Chief Executive of London Youth, said:
“We’re launching this Vision today to set out what all of the organisations involved believe is a positive agenda for young people, and a call to action from policy-makers, funders, business and anyone else who can help.
“The countdown to the 2016 Mayoral election offers a huge opportunity to put young people front and centre of how London grows and develops over the next 10 years. The test for all of us with an interest in supporting young people will be whether we’ve made a better city for them to thrive and prosper over the next decade.”
A Vision for Young Londoners to 2025 calls for:
- New platforms to engage all young Londoners, including Mayoral election votes for 16-year-olds, and other initiatives to give them a voice and genuine influence over their lives
- Better and fairer health and education opportunities for young Londoners
- Safer streets and play areas and better support for vulnerable young people
- New partnerships between service deliverers which focus on young people with greatest need
- Broader, sustainable career opportunities for young people which pay the London Living Wage
- Better and more equal access to housing for young people
Sharon Long, Director of Partnership for Young London, said:
“For too long the organisations working with young people have felt themselves at the mercy of decisions about funding or investment which don’t always sit with our understanding of the priorities for young people.
“We came together to explore what was needed, and found so much common ground, across Local Authorities, policy-makers, formal and informal education, and organisations working in health, housing and social care. We are now calling on others to join us to help make the vision a reality.”
Zak Osman, 21, a young person who attends Wac Arts centre in Camden, said:
“Every young person will have their own idea of what London can offer them. For me, the future needs to be about achieving my goals in my career. There are going to be challenges: we need to be resilient, but it can be difficult to bounce back when things don't go the way you want them to. So we need services and organisations to support and challenge us when things are tough; and to be joined up, so they help us make and take advantage of opportunities. Together we can make London better for everyone.”
David Warner, Chief Executive of London Funders, said:
“Voluntary funders have been at the forefront of supporting young people in London for many years. More than ever, with public funding priorities so restricted, a new approach is needed, and we are asking real commitment from those in positions of influence to drive better outcomes for young people in London.”
We now want young people across the capital, and everyone involved in delivering all relevant services, to get involved in creating a blueprint for achieving the Vision’s goals.
