The ideas of a 17 year old Cumbrian girl to make a positive change for young people’s future will be launched this week.
Lauren Summers, from Dallam School, was on work experience with Brathay, in Ambleside, when she came up with The Big Shout idea – a fun way to get more young people involved in having a say on issues that affect their lives.
She is the first of more than 600 young Cumbrians Brathay want to recruit to have their opportunity to get involved in decision making in the county. She will also play a key part in a young people’s management team, with an £18,000 Cumbria County Council budget, to stage roadshows throughout the region and a countywide celebration event at Brathay Hall on 7th November, during National Youth Week.
The first roadshow will be on 5th August in Bitts Park, Carlisle, and will be part of the National Playday event being hosted by Carlisle Play Partnership. The Brathay team will be asking young people to submit their design ideas for The Big Shout logo that they can then take away on a printed t-shirt. One design will be chosen as the official logo for The Big Shout and unveiled at the celebration event in November.
Other Big Shout roadshow dates are; 7th August at POWW event, Whitehaven, 13-15th August at BBC Blast in Barrow and 10th September at Westmorland County Show, Crooklands.
The Big Shout is promoting the Cumbria Youth Support Services Participation Project, being delivered by Brathay – a three-year programme that aims to involve young people under 19 in decisions that will affect them.
Participation aims to get children and young people involved in the design, delivery and evaluation of policies and services relevant to them by asking what does and doesn’t work and what they would change to make things better.
Leader of the programme, Brathay’s Cumbria Development Manager, Louise Burner said: “Lauren is a great example of what a young person can achieve in a very short space of time. We are very excited about this new opportunity and we are busy building on the great work that has happened previously in this area. This gives us a fantastic opportunity to develop lasting relationships across the county for our new community based programmes.”
Cumbria County Council Officer Beverly Morgan said, “The Big Shout is a key element of our Children’s Services Participation Strategy. We are committed to involving young people in key decisions within the Council and this will build on the good work that is already happening across the County.”
For further details of how young people and the community can get involved, please contact Louise Burner.