Getting young people ON the streets!

There has been a lot of coverage post the August riots about young people and the clamour both from the news media and politicians that has fuelled the predictable demonisation of young people in the wake of the riots. Clearly some of the acts during the events can't be condoned but what can be said is, that the reality is that you can say it wasnt reflective of young people generally.

Ironically the outcries and sweeping generalisations and political conclusions drawn and highlighted in the media, potentiallu will only serve to add to the feeling amongst young people that decision makers only see the anti-social behaviour of a small minority and fail consistently to highlight positive social behaviour!

This is particularly relevant to us at Solar Learning, as in the week after the riots we held our 2nd annual Urban Games & Hip Hop event in Whitley Bay North Tyneside. This was a youth led event put on by young people, for young people and the wider community. In the end it attracted around 8000 spectators over the weekend, but more importantly it involved around 100 volunteers, 200+ performers and competitors and was as diverse an event in terms of ages, social background and ethnicity as you could wish for!

It had me thinking to, when some of the free runners involved in the Parkour Jam at the Urban Games recently showcased what they do at Newcastle Mela, as I chatted to a coach from England Cricket who was at the Mela and was watching in awe at some of the things the Parkour group were doing, I explained that for our organisation we are about getting young people onto the streets but in a productive way! It felt like that could be a new tagline, the urban games-getting young people onto the streets.

I raise it because it has been a long held phrase in terms of work around anti-social behaviour has been to "get kids off the streets", which I can see the intention in terms of avoiding or addressing the issue, but the reality, something that has been raised post the riots, is that with the reduction and devaluing over a number of years now in youth services and youthwork and the struggle that organisations like Solar Learning have to generate sustainable resources, despite being innovative and good at delivering outcomes, projects like our need to be cherished, nurtured and supported.

Because its to easy to say lets get kids off the streets, we all do it, when in truth short of investment in new youth facilities, we need to invest in work that can be done on the streets with young people that challenges them constructively to enact positive social behaviour!

For a video from Urban Games 2011 made by the young people's media team got to our website homepage

http://www.solarlearning.org.uk/

Musings on partnerships & collaboration for a small social enterprise

We've been musing on the notions of partnerships and collaborations recently and how they impact differently on SME's. In particular as a small social enterprise what's apparent is our take on things is often very different to some of the larger organisations and individuals we encounter in the work we do with young people. Our aims and practice as CiC are about facilitation and youth led practice, which massively informs our approach to both what we do and also our approach to partnerships, collaborations and strategic work. Yet, it appears to me that sometimes this intrinsic value to be open to shared ideas, knowledge and expertise isn't always reciprocated elsewhere!
We find that a common experience, especially when encountering larger organisations, that there can be a less open approach. Maybe its the threats and challenges of the current climate regarding funding etc, and with their bigger overheads these organisations carry, that this makes people circumspect when it comes to partnerships? For example, as an organisation we have been involved in work with a larger organisation, helped them develop new work, input some significant experience and ideas and subsequently found that when it comes to an opportunity to gain further work and importantly funding, they have gone elsewhere for partnerships, to partners with more profile but definitely less experience in the practice!

This leaves us frustrated that as an emerging social enterprise in our 3rd year, but with the combined experience and expertise of over 30 years, we are left at the margins when it comes to partnerships and resources. What I fail to see is how larger organisations, with all trappings and trimmings that come with scale, seem to feel that they can benefit from working with smaller enterprises, clearly size matters!

Yet there is a lot to be said for those that keep it "lean and mean", and that actually there is a positive outcome for larger organisations from partnering and collaborating with smaller organisations, both in terms of their own feel good factor for supporting smaller players in their hinterland but also because sometime they can learn something! Obviously, we would gain significantly too, because of the kudos attached to partnering with bigger players, and it might help us survive economically too, but it’s not just about the money, or perhaps it is!

Recently I’ve had meetings with funders and commissioners of services and have urged them to think differently in the way they support and commission work, as I say to them “don’t just put all your resources into super tankers; you need some yachts and speedboats too”. Though I am not sure quite which of these we are, possibly a bit of both! Because there is something to be gained from forcing or encouraging larger organisations to make partnerships with smaller social enterprises who can contribute new and different things, but importantly as equals.

It seems that increasingly in the challenging economic climate for everyone that the default setting for people and organisations could be to circle the wagons, and compete for resources or only partner and collaborate with the bigger players. But smaller organisations can contribute now and the gains in the longer term can be significant.

To give an example, my experience as a youth education arena during the early 90’s, when we faced similar challenges economically, saw a group of people and organisations get together and say enough competing for funding and resources, let’s sit down and see how we can “share the wealth”. The result of this approach instigated innovative powerful practice, leading to one of the first, if not the first, youth led grant giving charity called The Keyfund, which is still going strong over a decade later.

So I guess I am saying in conclusion that, when it comes to partnership and collaborations,
developing ideas and innovation, both in our realm the field of youth education and cultural activity, and in general within the charitable and commissioning arena, don’t forget the large organisations can benefit and learn from small social enterprises and that scale and size shouldn’t be a prerequisite to who you make strategic partnerships with, as well as who you collaborate with in practice!

Michael Evans
Director
Solar Learning (CiC)

First Blog from Solar Learning Services

Solar Learning reaches another first, our first blog! We've been in the process of developing our online and social media in the past few weeks and a new blog is part of this work.

As its our first blog we don't intend to say much, but we will in the future use our blog to talk about the work we do as a Community Interest Company based in North East England, about our work towards delivering our social mission to develop education programmes that inspire and support youth led learning in children and young people and, to as we say, 'Turn Your Passion Into Pounds'!

We will also write about the events and issues involved in social enterprise and youth work for our organisation and the social enterprise arena.

SLS