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Youth Funding

Bristol youth groups receive £120,000 Government fund

An urban sports group is amongst the 26 latest schemes created by and for young people in Bristol to be approved for Government funding under the Youth Opportunity Fund (YOF) and Youth Capital Fund (YCF). Young people in Bristol have called these funds, simply 'YO'.

Bristol Parkour, a non-profit organisation for the positive promotion of urban sport in Bristol and its surrounding areas, was awarded £3,320 from the Youth Opportunities Fund. The group has been running for around three years as a collective of the whole community in Bristol. It is currently working with Bristol City Council to teach proper and safe urban sports to other young people.

Justin Pointing, 19, from the Youth Opportunities Grant Givers Panel, is a member of the group of young people who assess and approve bids for funding. He said: "I have been involved with the YOF/YCF funding panel for a few years and we have seen a great deal of improvement in applications, both in terms of the numbers and the quality.

"The rest of the panel consists of teenagers like myself. We make decisions through careful consideration, and more importantly, based on the views of young people and award funds to the projects that we think can really make a difference to young people's positive activities."

The money is part of a £1.453 million Government fund made available to young people in the City of Bristol between 2008 and 2011. The purpose of the funds, which are administered by Bristol City Council, is to enable local young people to decide what positive leisure time activities and facilities should be available to them and other teenagers. Experience shows that young people are more likely to get involved in positive activities when they have a say in what is available, and that taking part helps them to learn new skills, as well as divert them from behaviour that might be considered by the wider community as anti-social.

More than 140 projects across Bristol have been awarded funding since the Youth Opportunity and Youth Capital funds were introduced. In this funding year, 2008/09, the YO panel has £200,043 Youth Capital Fund remaining and £205,814 Youth Opportunities to allocate over the next three funding rounds.

The next deadlines for 'YO' applications are 21 November 2008 and 16 January 2009. If you are aged between 13 and 19, live in Bristol and have an idea for an activity contact: ywparticipation@bristol.gov.uk or click here

NOTES TO EDITORS

The 'YO' panel was set up by Bristol City Council in 2006 and is supported by the Bristol Youth Work Participation Team, Integrated Youth Support and Development Service.

All local authorities receive funding from the Department for Children, Schools and Families for the Youth Opportunity and Capital Funds, the purpose of which is to enable young people to make decisions about positive activities and places to go in their communities. A total of £173 million is available for YOF and YCF in England over the 2008-11period.

The YOF and YCF are just one part of the Government's investment in places to go and positive activities, which was announced alongside Aiming High for Young People: A Ten Year Strategy for Positive Activities in July 2007. The commitments in Aiming High, which aim to increase young people's participation in positive leisure time activities, are supported by a total investment in England of £679 million. Evidence shows that participation in regular, structured positive activities can support the development of young people's social and emotional skills, but that many, particular those living in deprived areas, are missing out on opportunities to take part. Taking part in activities can also divert young people from taking part in anti-social behaviour.

More information on Aiming High is available at: http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/youthmatters/aiminghigh/

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