Inclusion Project

A pilot group was set up between MCFB and the Citadel Youth Centre in May 2008, which aimed to support BME young people to access/integrate into mainstream youth provision. An additional aim was to work with young people already accessing the Citadel to challenge and develop attitudes to improving community relations. A total of 5 group sessions were held between February and May lasting for an hour and a half. The group was composed of seven minority ethnic young people from MCFB and three white Scottish existing Citadel service-users.

The group sessions aimed to explore the needs and feelings of young people when deciding whether to attend a new club, and what kind of club it would be. We asked questions about key issues which would affect their decision to attend a new club.

Discussion points included: where and when the club would meet, who would be there, transport, what kind of snacks would be available (BME young people would not attend if any products forbidden by their religion were offered - sausage rolls, bacon, beef). Additionally, all young people said it was important to have a same gender worker at the club. They also commented that they "liked the group being mixed boys and girls from different cultures because it gave them a chance to see things from a different point of view". There was a strong theme of zero tolerance for racist/bullying behaviours and much time was spent talking about how to prevent/manage racist incidents.

A grant from Cashback for Communities enabled us to continue and develop this work. Following an evaluation of the pilot, a group of boys who used to attend an MCFB group have been meeting at the Citadel since September 2008 and, as a direct result, four of them have now started going to the Citadel youth club on a Thursday after our session.

A group of girls who attended MCFB groups will start to meet at the Citadel after the Christmas break. We will also be seeking to involve BME volunteers in this project.

We hope to obtain additional funding to further develop this project. Other ideas include developing a calendar of events over the year which will offer opportunities for young people from different agencies to come together for different purposes and supporting mainstream youth services to become more inclusive, building on research, disseminating existing knowledge, and offering training seminars. Another aim will be to increase the recruitment, training and support of minority ethnic volunteers in mainstream youth provision.

Funded by

Partner

© 2008 MCFB

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