Friday, May 18th, 2012

London Youth Now

A policy, awareness raising and training project which seeks to ensure that young people and organisations working with them can tackle hate crime and promote community cohesion.

Background

In 2008 IARS launched the Young People's Hate Crime Project; a youth-led research project which aimed to explore the causes of race hate incidents in three British cities - Bradford, Liverpool and London - and the potential for restorative justice to be used to remedy such incidents. Findings revealed that race hate manifests differently according to the demographics of specific areas but is generally targeted at new comers; particularly refugees and asylum seekers and newly arrived Eastern Europeans. It was also revealed that the majority of young people responded positively to the suggestion that restorative justice could be used to address racial hatred, both within the criminal justice system as well as in the school environment.

It is on the back of these findings that "London Youth Now" has been launched. With funding from the Big Lottery Fund, IARS is moving the Young People's Hate Crime Project into a new phase of project delivery.

Project aims

This project will deliver the opportunity to 250 young people to gain skills to become Young Champions in their neighbourhoods and influence policy and practices affecting them. Through research, campaigning and events the project will enable young people to work with 500 organisations that provide services to young Londoners relating to community cohesion and hate crime.

Current activities

To be added

Project related news: