According to ‘V’ a recent survey by them found that 70% of 16 - 25 year olds say they are “negatively perceived by the public”, and of the 3000 that took part in the survey 60% think this is unfair (which to me seems a surprisingly high amount that think it is fair?!) The survey also found that 49% of young people “believe young people do things which justify this negative opinion”.

Besides recognising the behavior of some young people doesn’t help their image, others to get the blame include celebrities (apparently Amy Winehouse topping the bad example list which is in conflict to the findings of a poll last month when supposedly she was voted as the “ultimate heroine among the UK’s youth!), and in the words of V’s Chief Executive “This survey reveals the growing gulf of understanding between the generations which is leading to young people being unfairly tarred with a negative image.”

Over on the CYPNow Forums Neil asks “How very sad. As a Youth Worker, it is really disappointing to see that nothing has changed. What have we got to do to change this image of our YP?”

Both comments seemingly assuming that because some young people feel that they are perceived negatively by ‘the public’ they actually are. This feeling by young people of Continue Reading »

Short film with two groups from the Youth Act programme who took part in some YoMo training at Hebden Bridge. One group is intending to raise awareness about crime and the other hopes to challenge the negative image of young people.

This group of young adults recognised many positive and negative issues within their community in Lewisham. Some negative issues were teenage pregnancy’s, high rates of STI’s, gangs, and a lack of young role models which also contributes to a negative image of young people. Some of the possible opportunities for the group which could help them contribute positively to their community would be to research the target audience, develop skills, self esteem, approach individuals, agencies schools and celebrities to raise awareness, community events along with drama and music activities. However, some barriers which could prevent this would be targeting an audience, increasing knowledge of the issue, and lack of support for the campaign. Therefore, it Continue Reading »