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Safer Neighbourhoods Annual Challenge |
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Friday, 19 January 2007 |
A competition that will give young people aged between 5-19 in Hammersmith and Fulham the chance to work on a project to make their community safer was launched yesterday.
The second Safer Neighbourhoods Annual Challenge was opened at the Bridge Academy , Finlay Street, Fulham.
The event aims to challenge young people in the borough by asking them: 'What can you do to make your neighbourhood safer?' It encourages them to identify problems such as graffiti or lack of facilities for young people and develop a scheme to help improve the situation.
Entry is open to teams or individuals from schools and youth groups within the borough and for the first time this year primary schools will be invited to join in.
Last year the challenge was a huge success. Over 250 young people were involved, suggesting more than 80 project ideas. Winning entries included the Bridge Club who cleared a patch of waste ground, W6 who started a youth cinema and Adam's Angels who prepared and ran a series of tea parties for a group of elderly Fulham residents.
The winners of the challenge were revealed at a red-carpet ceremony at Riverside Studios in May 2006 by Myleene Klass and were selected from a group of 20 different projects. Prizes included trophies and £1,500 for the winning school or youth club in each category.
This year's entrants will be offered plenty of support from their local Safer Neighbourhoods Team to give them every chance of success. Their projects must be based in Hammersmith and Fulham and the onus will be on them being imaginative, practical and affordable, making a real and lasting difference to their local neighbourhood.
The wider aim of the challenge is to make children and young people think about their environment and the difference they can make to it. Choosing a project will involve considering their local community and the impact of crime on it, their responsibility as citizens and their relationship with the police and others in positions of authority.
Projects might last for just a few hours on a single day - or could take the whole term to complete. Some projects may even continue after the closing date for the official competition (6 April 2007) - something that would certainly not prohibit them from being entered.
Several major sponsors based in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham supported the scheme last year and will continue to support the challenge this year.
Chief Inspector John Sutherland, coordinating the event, said:
"We hear such a lot of negativity about young people these days that we wanted to help challenge the idea that they aren't interested in helping out in their communities. What we discovered through the Safer Neighbourhoods Annual Challenge was that not only did they have some fantastic ideas, they had a real enthusiasm for working hands-on to make their neighbourhoods safer.
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