Harvest Housing Group’s flagship annual seminar took place on Wednesday (16th November) at Manchester Airport’s Atlantic Suite, where staff joined North West businesses and community groups to discuss youth and the regeneration of neighbourhoods.
For the 2nd consecutive year the topic of ‘youth’ was high on the agenda.
Ian Perry, Chief Executive of Harvest Housing Group comments:
“At last year’s event we were fortunate enough to hear the thoughts, opinions and insights of a group of young people, which helped us further and develop our youth strategy. This year’s seminar gave us the opportunity to review the progress that has been made and to continue building on the foundations that have been laid.”
Among the speakers who addressed the conference were Journalist and Broadcaster, Anthony Wilson, credited with contributing largely to youth culture in Manchester through his creation of the legendary Hacienda nightclub and the Factory Records label, which boasts the likes of Joy Division/New Order. Alongside Anthony, were Robert Ridley, Deputy Editor of the Manchester Evening News, himself a great advocate of fighting against the negative perception of young people portrayed in the press, and Nick Massey, Chief Executive of the Community Foundation, an organisation designed to help fund community projects such as those that Harvest Housing Group undertake.
Important statistics relating to young people were shared at the seminar dispelling the myth that youth crime is the biggest plague in society today, confirming what Harvest Housing Group staff and other youth workers have known for a long time: 1) 92% of all crime is committed by those over 18; 2) Since 1992 there has been a steady drop in the level of youth crime with levels a great deal lower than a decade ago.
The recent Mori report was also quoted, which has found that 70% of all press articles depicted young people in a negative light.
“The often negative and inaccurate portrayal of young people in the media is extremely frustrating for us. We work with young people on a daily basis and their interest and enthusiasm for the activities and initiatives we run lead to fantastic results.”
One such example for Harvest Housing Group is the work undertaken by Eaves Brook, the Group’s housing association operating throughout Lancashire. By involving young people in regeneration projects with CABE (Commission of Architecture for the Built Environment) and Elevate, they have been able to develop ideas for the improvement of their towns with young people actively involved in projects to create community gardens, youth shelters and MUGAs (Multi-Use Games Areas) across the area.
Their work culminated in a debate with representatives from CABE, Elevate and local authorities, which was recorded and broadcast by BBC Radio Lancashire; this provided intelligent, thought-provoking and heavy-weight comments from all the young people involved.
The Annual Seminar 2006, also gave a platform to Harvest Housing Group’s new Chairman, Eric Fazackerely, and also to the newly created Montgomery Community Awards, named after Lady Joyce Montgomery, who stepped down as Chairman of the Group in September after 20 years in the role.