G:up Puts Participation on the Map

See attached G:up’s new Participation report, produced by Midlands Youth and Playtrain through G:up’s three-year, Big Lottery-funded G:XL project, mapping children and young people’s participation across the region and providing a number of useful participation resources.

This report analyses G:XL’s recent audit of children and young people’s participation in each West Midlands local authority, looking at both statutory and voluntary and community sector providers, as well as health and arts and culture.

There are a number of interesting and potentially stand alone resources within the report including:

• Findings of the mapping exercise
• Presentation of models of good practice for engagement of children and young people
• Research into the role and impact of Participation Champions across the West Midlands 
• Participation activities that you could do in your organisation
• New minimum standards for CYP participation, produced through analysis of existing frameworks and consultation with participation champions and young people. 

For more G:XL information and resources, visit the G:XL section of the website: www.gup.org.uk/gxl  

If you have any comments or feedback, please send them to G:up at gup@bayc.org or ring 0121 460 5870.

Get involved in G:XL

The G:XL project was designed in partnership with over 40 organisations to increase infrastructure and capacity in the West Midlands children and young people’s voluntary and community sector and there are plenty of opportunities to make your voice heard and shape its work.

This report is part of G:XL’s Voice and Influence work stream, which aims to increase the influence CYP VCS organisations and their young people have on policy and practice, through improved infrastructure skills, knowledge and systems as well as outreach engagement of ‘hard to reach’ and ‘underrepresented’ groups to enable them to participate more fully.

The next event in this work stream is the Participation Champions Briefing Day in Leamington on Wednesday 8^th June 2011.  If you are interested in or involved in participation, come along and join the discussions on why participation matters, barriers to participation and implementing standards.  For more information including flyer and agenda visit this page.