West End, Morecambe Lancashire

In its 5th event of 2008, Building Futures ran a workshop with the National Youth Agency in the coastal town of Morecambe. The event was the second time the team worked with young people to get them looking at the future of their community over the next 10 years and presented an great opportunity to widen the remit of the toolkit to encompass issues of inclusion.

The game playing event was part of a programme developed by The NYA and their partners Signposts – a Multi-Agency Resource Centre in Morecambe that aims to re-engage with youth groups in economically disadvantaged areas and give them a real opportunity to help infom the future of their community. Signposts works voluntarily and has developed a ‘youth offer’ of places to go and things to do for young people, including developing a Community Shop (where the event will be held) a programme of events and activities.

The Building Futures game event supported the research work of Signposts and The Young Researchers Network and looked at the next 10 years in the West End area of Morecambe. The West End has long been a neglected part of this seaside town, which like many is struggling to define itself in an age of mass tourism. Recent regenerative efforts have consentrated on the towns famous promenade, the event in August asked a Young Peoples Stakeholders Group to decide what improvements they want to to see happen and encouraged them to come to some agreement on proposals.

Playing alongside the youth groups was a team of adults with the exact same brief. This deliberate mix highlighted differences in priorities between age groups and provided a great opportunity to reconnect aspirations in the area.

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