essay on youth centre

Essay on Youth for Students and Children

500+ words essay on youth.

Youth is a worthwhile phase of one’s life. The age where the age group is no longer of a child but yet to turn out to be a grown-up is the youth age. It is an age recognized by traits of heroism, toughness, muscle, stimulation, curiosity, judgmental attitude and even much more. At this stage, even though driven by fantasy or freedom and the power to choose his or her response, all must be cautiously exercised. It is a golden phase to accomplish the dual goals of intelligence and character.

A Period of Stress & Strain, Storm & Strife

Youth, in the present era, is a powerful asset of the nation possessing the abundant energy and the zeal considered necessary for the overall advancement of the same. Youth is a critical age of development, a period of uncertainty when everything is in ferment.

As a Youth is neither a child nor an adult, the personality possesses a mixture of both stages. He can be selfish at some times or turn out to be selfless the very next day. He may also turn out to be rebellious one day.

Youth develops a revolting personality and thus we can see conflicts in opinions between the family. It is also a major cause of worsening of family relations. Youth, being argumentative in nature, develop an attitude of apt rationale and judgment.

Thus, it denies accepting as true in anything without an appropriate cause following the same. It is not that there is no lack of moral awakening or his total refusal to adhere to ethical and moral standards. It is merely that he wants his every question to be answered and having his quest fulfilled, he accepts the same.

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How to channelize Youth Power in the right direction?

Youth is full of strength and intellectual capability, which if properly utilized could assist in turning the invisible into visible, the hardships to triumph and the hard work to success thus leading to the overall growth of an individual and the nation at large.

Following measures must be adapted to turn the youth into prolific individuals:

• Understanding child psychology by the parents at this stage.
• Proper guidance by the teachers
• Practical representation of best ideals and values to foster moral education in the schools. Sex education is a must for better emotional development.
• Minimizing the habit of excessive control and strict discipline so as to promote the expression of emotions, thus leading to suitable mental development.
• The organization of extra-curricular activities to channelize the imagination in youth towards creative activities.
• Preparing the youth for the cause of society by entrusting the responsibility so as to develop a feeling of responsibility in them.
• A right and rationale attitude towards democracy should be developed in the surroundings. This would lead to develop the philosophy of life.

  Conclusion

Youth is the golden period to cherish a big dream full of passion and energy. Although, the period is also full of adventures yet they have to be looked for with the eyes open. It is the time when we can provide shape to our ideas for the economic development of society. By encouraging to take an active part in the dramas, projects, sports and others are pretty good ways to control excessive fantasy. Also, it is the time to move towards the destination which can be made possible through vocational awareness and critical study of individual differences.

Mixed with responsibility and fun, new environs, excitement, thrill, applauses, and regrets, it has a huge significance in one’s life. It is time to achieve wisdom in addition to knowledge.

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education, community-building and change

A warm, safe place: an argument for youth clubs

Contents : preface · introduction · what young people want · the benefits for young people · the need for the long term approach · references, sue robertson argues that youth clubs have a unique role and one that should be valued and supported as they can make a big difference in the lives of many young people and their communities. reproduced from youth & policy 70 (winter 2000/01).

You might like to check out some earlier statements of the power and significance of club work:

Maude Stanley – Girls’ Clubs (1890)

Arthur Sweatman: youths’ clubs and institutes (1863)

A recent argument for the reinvigoration of club life (and the significance of association) can be found in:

young people, informal education and association – reclaiming the club

Sue Robertson taught on the Community and Youth Work Course at the University of Chichester.

( page 71 ) Centre-based youth work has fallen out of favour over recent years. In the past decade youth clubs have been ignored and marginalized by youth service management and government alike. Yet suddenly generic youth work is being talked about, a commitment to the continuation of generic work is in the NYA’s submission to the ‘Learning to Succeed’ and ‘Bridging the Gap’ documents (Youth Policy Update, 1999) and in government rhetoric (Young People Now, 2000; CYWU-Connexions Conference, 2000). In the light of both Connexions (DFEE, 1999) and the Policy Action Team report on young people (Social Exclusion Unit, 2000) now might be the time to present the case for youth club work, and in this piece I am arguing for open access youth work which does not deal with only the most disadvantaged section of young people but works with young people in a neighbourhood setting.

If we are arguing to preserve generic work we need to be clear what we mean by that and why it is valuable. The Youth Service Audit (DfEE, 1998) describes the basic youth service infrastructure as the foundation of open, non-stigmatizing access from which specific project work with particular groups can develop. This is club work. Yet such work has recently not been advertised as relevant or important. For example, a recent DfEE publication (1999) included no examples of club based open youth work, while in contrast, a 1987 DES publication is full of examples of centre-based work.

There has been limited research and writing on youth clubs. This piece draws on work done by Williamson et al for the Welsh Youth Agency (1995), Ballard and Wright in Gloucestershire (1994), Furlong et al in Scotland (1998) as well as my own evaluation of the Youth Action Scheme in Gloucestershire and ethnographic research which I undertook in a youth club. The literature includes a wonderful account of a youth club from 1963 Razor Edge by Blandy, Rose’s recent Touching Lives (1999), Bunt and Gargrave’s The Politics of Youth Clubs (1980); a chapter in Button’s Developmental Group Work with Adolescents (1974) and various articles in Young People Now , and Youth Clubs UK . Williamson’s recent chapter in The Challenge of the Future (1997) is an important addition to this list, whilst in Kids at the Door Revisited , Holman (2000) demonstrates that it is possible to see the benefits of involvement in youth work in the long term. Many workers have argued this. For example: (page 72)

The club made me more tolerant, taught mixing, I learnt to socialize, made me want to be a leader, more responsible . (Tewkesbury ex-member quoted in Ballard and Wright, 1994)

What young people want

Two quotes from the Guardian last year sum up the ambivalent attitude of a community to its young people.

A new bus shelter is being built in a village near Exeter so that youngsters will have somewhere dry to meet up on winter evenings A new playground in Nottingham has been designed without slides, climbing frames or play equipment because nearby residents were worried that older youths would hang around the site at night

Communities on the one hand feel threatened and on the other the need to provide something. Young people are often both excluded from community discourses and seen as the problem in communities (Brent, 1997). However, they depend more than adults on their immediate neighbourhood for their social life. As such places for young people to meet should be an important part of community provision, alongside and sometimes part of, adult education, leisure centres, schools, community centres.

A variety of questionnaires conducted in the 1990s in various places asking young people why they attend youth clubs produced similar findings (e.g.. Ballard and Wright, 1994; Williamson et aI, 1995; DfEE, 1995). Young people generally want, ‘A place to have fun, to meet friends, talk with your mates and just mellow out, to get away from schoolwork and parents, a place where you are given a chance’. Young people involved in a discussion at a New Deal event in Bristol wanted the youth service to offer, ‘a better place to go to, more equipment, more day time opening, teach practical skills, spend money on us, more workers’

Williamson’s research (1995) which was targeted at over 15 year olds identified four needs: for association, (somewhere to go), for activities, (something to do), for autonomy (space of our own); and for advice, (someone to talk to). Young people have told me that they value the club as a warm and friendly social meeting place, and for things to do including trips away, activities, special projects, discussions and issue based work. The club provides the opportunity for participation and young people who attend clubs are involved in other community activity to a greater extent than others ‘a higher proportion of youth service participants are involved in sports, arts or voluntary work than non-participants’. (page 73)

The benefits for young people

Peer relationships.

So if involvement is a ‘good thing’ what benefits do young people derive?

Popular theories on adolescence agree that it is a time when peer group influence is of crucial importance. Acceptance of peer culture expands social horizons, helps personality development and encourages the ability to act independently and try out new roles (Cotterell, 1996). Adolescence is a peak time of leisure needs and of time for leisure activities, but is restricted by lack of money, transport, parental and legal boundaries. Youth Clubs can provide a relatively safe environment from which to observe and interact with peers and to experience the roles of leader and follower.

Cotterell (1996) suggests that young people need to resolve their group identity and relationship to their peer group before they can achieve a sense of personal identity or resolve relations with their family. Companionship provides a pleasurable experience of group interaction associated with leisure activity; individuals experience a sense of belonging, acceptance, solidarity and social affirmation simply from being together. Yet the peer relationship can be one of the hardest for young people to establish. Button, (1974) argued that youth clubs can be one way of ensuring that these interactions occur. The role of the youth worker is to facilitate conversations and provide space for them but also to be a ‘social architect’ helping young people to come together and work in groups.

Being accepted as part of a network is a factor in the development of personal growth, of self-esteem (Cilliers, 1998) and of community responsibility (Gilchrist, 1999), and adolescence is a period when growth in the social network is needed to develop competencies for participation in adult society. Therefore, young people need opportunities for widening social networks.

In this context, out of school activities are important, giving access to young people of different ages and backgrounds providing opportunities to make new friendships and build on existing ones. This was particularly apparent in work I did within the youth service on removing barriers to participation by disabled young people which highlighted the social isolation they can suffer by attending special schools and not mixing with young people in their local communities.

People build up a personal network of supportive ties and some members of this network are needed to help bridge changing settings or circumstances. This is a role for a youth worker. (page 74)

Relationships with adults

Youth clubs not only help widen contacts among young people but also help to structure informal social relationships between adults and young people. Most of the adults that young people meet in their daily lives are authority figures, or are seen as such: teachers, parents, shopkeepers. Young people often expect adults to treat them in certain ways – i.e. as children – and are amazed to be treated as an adult and taken seriously (Berne, 1973). The evaluation I did for the Youth Action Scheme demonstrated the positive feeling young people had about the youth workers: ‘They treated us like adults, they showed us respect’.

Hendry et al (1993) asked young people to identify mentoring characteristics of non-related adults; functions were enabler, believer, teacher, supporter, and role model. Youth workers are a good example of these functions; good youth worker – young people relationships have informality, spontaneity, acceptance and commitment. Adults to talk to are important, ‘for advice and understanding, someone who can be trusted’. Young people don’t necessarily want hard facts or answers, and if they do there are better places to get them than the youth club, but a helpful adult to bounce ideas off and confide in: ‘someone you know you can trust and won’t tell’ (Williamson 1995).

Youth workers can be a channel for accessing more specialist advice which increases in importance as young people move through adolescence and their needs change.

Participation

The need to have somewhere to go that is not too organized is frequently articulated in interviews with young people. Furlong et al (1997) reported that the young people in their study spent a significant proportion of their time ‘hanging around’. Williamson (1997) suggests that young people in transition need space for reflection and self-determination plus clear guidance, support and information. In this phase they are looking to run things themselves and need ‘just enough organization’ (Hendry et al, 1993). Youth organizations which try to be too controlling and aim to develop ‘socially responsible’ attitudes and behaviour will not attract young people as they get older or those whose lives are generally chaotic.

The best youth workers were seen as those who were friendly, approachable, had a sense of humour and were tolerant of the members. The worst were strict or bossy and tried to impose their own standards on the young people. (Furlong et al, 1997)

Young people in Williamson’s research said their continued engagement with youth work depended on them having a say: (page 75)

It’s all based on consultation and participation here. We do have quite a lot of power. There’s nothing we can’t do if we really want to but it’s down to us. We’ve done the fundraising; it’s our money. (Williamson et al, 1995)

Participation by young people is in itself a learning experience, for them and often for workers. One of my early attempts at government of the club by members committee saw extremely draconian rules imposed and half the membership banned, leading to the formation of a ‘non-members committee’ to wrestle power back!

The need for the long term approach

There is much discussion about the importance of youth workers’ relationships with young people but developing good relationships takes time and needs continuity. Richardson (1997) stresses this as the most crucial aspect of the work but also the least quantifiable. Jells (1999) argues that recent concentration on short term funding has meant that workers have been unable to create long term relationships, they have to target specific groups and impose themselves on them to get outcomes. This was certainly my experience of managing a Youth Action Scheme. Young people aren’t involved in setting the criteria on which projects are judged. Youth workers are being asked to work to an agenda which focuses on a small percentage of young people; mainly male and defined as ‘disaffected’, and this work is then measured against a variety of crime prevention methods. The educational, participative, empowering and equal opportunity focus of youth work can disappear.

My experience of club work is that youth and community centres can be a focal point in a community. Young peoples’ involvement often starts with their first entrance as toddlers to the playgroup, followed by their involvement in the After School Club, the Junior Club, Senior Club. They then often return to the playgroup with their own children. That long term relationship, the ability to really get to know young people, to offer them challenges and opportunities and help them grow and move on is a particularly important aspect of local youth work. In the 1980s I worked with young people in senior club four nights a week, plus activities at weekends and residentials. When they finished school and were out of work, the centre was a focal point in the day as well. Times have changed: many ‘full time’ centres now are only open two nights a week (Furlong et al, 1997); resources are tight; full time workers face many pressures.

In my interviews with young people involved in the Youth Action Scheme in Gloucestershire, boredom was identified as the main reason for getting involved in crime. In my current research young people talk about needing somewhere to go to ‘keep out of mischief’, they recognize the problems that they can get into when (page 76) bored and looking for excitement on the streets. The recently produced ‘Listen Up’ Report (Home Office, 2000) found that the boys particularly wanted activities that ‘give them a buzz but take place in a controlled environment’. Young people on the Gloucestershire Youth Action scheme really appreciated the opportunity to take part in challenging activities and were able to use the experience to help them reflect on their everyday experiences. Bandura (1995) demonstrates that the most effective way of developing a strong sense of efficacy is through ‘mastery experiences’; young people need to find something in their lives which they can do well. Properly resourced youth clubs can provide the ideal base for activities to be organized and new skills acquired. However, as resources and staffing levels have been cut and managers have been increasing the amount of administration required it seems that fewer activities and residentials happen. There has been a trend away from face to face work by full time youth workers (Bamber, 2000).

For a long time now in youth work I have been frustrated by the focus on curriculum, on outcomes, on managerialism, on projects, rather than on young peoples needs as a member of a community. Perhaps this makes me an old-fashioned youth worker, but I would like us to give youth clubs a serious chance. Our buildings are probably inappropriate; they probably always were (Jeffs, 1997). The best youth club I worked in for atmosphere was a prefab, an old school classroom. Every night ‘God Save the Queen’ by the Sex Pistols was played over and over again; I can’t hear that now without remembering the club. Good youth work isn’t just about the here and now and measuring, its about memories and long term learning as Holman (2000) demonstrates so well.

Youth Clubs have a unique role and one that should be valued and supported as they can make a big difference in the lives of many young people and their communities. Club based work can provide the warm, safe, friendly space for young people that they say they want, it can give them real power and ownership. It can be a place where they develop new skills, try out new things, where they are seen and judged differently from the school or home, where their talents and idiosyncrasies are appreciated and where they can have fun.

Ballard, D. and Wright, S. (1994) Research Project on Centre Based Work , Gloucestershire Youth Service: unpublished.

Bamber, J. (2000) ‘Managing Youth Work’ in Youth and Policy , No 68, pp 5-18.

Bandura, A. (1995) Self Efficacy in Changing Societies , Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.

Berne, E. (1972) Games People Play , London: Pan.

Brent, J. (1994) ‘Community without Unity’ in P. Hoggett (ed.) Contested Communities , Bristol: Polity Press.

Blandy, M. (1967) Razor Edge: The story of a youth club , London: Gollancz. (page 77)

Bunt, S. and Gargrave, R. (1980) The Politics of Youth Clubs , Leicester: National Youth Bureau.

Burke, T., Hand, I. and McFall, L. (1999) Moving on Up, Department for Education and Employment.

Button, L. (1974) Developmental Group Work with Adolescents , London: Hodder and Stoughton.

Cilliers, P. (1998) Complexity and Postmodernism , London: Routledge.

Cotterell, l. (1996) Social Networks and Social influences in Adolescence, London: Routledge.

CYWU 12000), Connexions Conference October 4th 2000, Birmingham:  CYWU

DfEE (1999) Moving on Up , London: DfEE.

DES (1987) Effective Youth Work Report, Education Observed 6 , HMI, Stanmore.

DfEE (1998) England’s Youth Service, The 1998 Audit , Leicester: National Youth Agency.

Furlong, A., Cartmel, F.,  Powney, J., and Hall, S. (1998) Evaluating Youth Work with Vulnerable Young People , SCRE Home Page [email protected]

Gilchrist, A. (2000) ‘Community Networks’ in Community Development Journal , Vol. 35(3), pp.264-275.

Hendry, L., Shucksmith, I., Love,J. and Glendinning, A. (1993) Young Peoples Leisure and Lifestyles, London: Routledge.

Holman, B. (2000) Kids at the Door Revisited , Lyme Regis: Russell House.

Jeffs, A. J. (1979) Young People and the Youth Service , London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Jeffs ,T. (1997) ‘Changing their ways: Youth work and Underclass Theory’ in MacDonald, R.  (1997) Youth, the ‘Underclass’ and Social Exclusion , London: Routledge.

Richardson, J. (1997), ‘The path to adulthood’ in I. Ledgerwood, and N. Kendra, (eds.) The Challenge of the Future, Lyme Regis: Russell House.

Rose, C. (1999) Touching Lives , Leicester: Youth Work Press.

Social Exclusion Unit (2000) Young People Norwich: Report of Policy Action Team 12 , London: Stationary Office.

The Listen Up Report (2000) A dialogue with Young People, Home Office, London.

Williamson, H. (1997) ‘So what for young people’ in I. Ledgerwood and N. Kendra, (eds.) The Challenge of the Future , Lyme Regis: Russell House.

Williamson, H., Afzal, S.,  Eason, C., and Williams, N. (1995) The needs of young people aged 15-19 and the Youth Work Response, Caerphilly: Welsh Youth Agency.

Young People Now ‘News’ p 4. Issue 132 April 2000.

Youth Policy Update (1999) October Leicester : National Youth Agency.

© Sue Robertson 2000. Reproduced with kind permission from Youth and Policy /Sue Robertson . First placed in the archives: May 2002

Acknowledgement: Picture: The Venny – Wood End Youth Centre, in Wood End, Coventry by Lydia shiningbrightly. Sourced from Flickr and reproduced under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) licence. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lydiashiningbrightly/3216165466/

Last Updated on July 5, 2019 by infed.org

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Youth Centers  

by Eric G. Mion Lewis & Zimmerman Associates, Inc.

Within This Page

Building attributes, relevant codes and standards, additional resources.

The Youth Center is a social and recreational center intended primarily for use by children ages 11 to 18 years. In some cases, children as young as six years old will use a Youth Center, but usually only if special programs are in place to accommodate them. The Center supports opportunities for youth to develop their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive abilities and to experience achievement, leadership, enjoyment, friendship, and recognition.

The Youth Center offers organized instructional programs for physical activities such as dance, yoga, and martial arts and for academic and arts programs such as science, crafts, and theater. It also offers opportunities for unstructured activities such as game playing, socializing, club meetings, and outdoor play.

While unstructured activities are an essential part of a Youth Center, these are staffed facilities and control and supervision are critical elements. These elements impact facility design as do considerations for youth-friendly and youth-appealing design. Safety is also of paramount importance.

Several nationally recognized accreditation agencies identify requirements for programs and facility conditions: National AfterSchool Association (NAA) , formerly the National School-Age Care Alliance, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) . Also, the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) provides training and curriculum development.

A. Space Types and Building Organization

A Youth Center serves the dual purpose of accommodating unstructured social interaction among different age groups and providing instructional classes all in a safe, supervised environment. This drives the facility layout and functional space adjacencies.

Sample adjacency diagram for a youth center. Developed by DMJM Design, Arlington, VA

Typical Youth Center activity spaces include the following:

• Control desk/check-in
• Commons/game room
• Activity rooms/classrooms
• Multipurpose room/gymnasium
• Computer room
• Teen room and
• Outdoor activity areas.

Typical Youth Center support spaces include the following:

• Administrative office space
• Toilets and janitor facilities
• Kitchen and
• Mechanical/electrical/communications space.

It is particularly effective to organize the activity spaces around the Commons-making it the heart of the program area around which the other program spaces revolve. The Commons area is the principal social gathering point and fulfills many of the social interaction goals of the facility. It usually includes subareas such as a game area, an eating area (adjacent to the snack bar), a television (TV) viewing area, and general gathering/conversation spaces. These subareas should accommodate social units of 12 to 15 youth gathering in pockets.

The Commons should naturally "grow" out of the lobby, past the control desk. The control desk should have visual control over the entire Commons and any entrances to other spaces. The entrances to the other activity spaces should be well defined and act as portals to those areas.

The snack bar can range from self-service vending stations to a full-service hot bar with an adjacent teaching kitchen that also serves an instructional function. It should be adjacent to an eating area in the Commons.

The activity rooms can range from small classroom spaces to a full-sized gymnasium, depending on facility mission, programs offered, and available budget. Typically at least two activity rooms should be provided: one configured for more academic or arts and crafts instruction and one configured for physical activities.

If mission and budget allow for a large activity room (or multipurpose room), design the room to meet high school or college standards for a gymnasium to provide maximum utility and flexibility. Provide either a separate, exterior entrance or an entrance directly off the lobby into the gymnasium. This facilitates access to this room for after-hours sporting events when the rest of the facility is closed.

A computer room provides the youth with supervised computer and Internet access for recreation and homework purposes.

The teen room provides a separate space for older youth to socialize independently from the rest of the facility. It provides functions similar to those of the Commons area and should include space for games, TV watching, and conversation. Ideally, the teen room should feel private but maintain a sense of connection to the rest of the facility.

Youth Center Control Desk, Naval Station Mayport, FL. Photo by Mayport MWR Department

Arts-and-crafts-style Activity Room, Naval Station Mayport. Photo by Mayport MWR Department

B. Design Considerations

Key design goals and considerations for Youth Centers include the following:

Create a Homelike Environment

While meeting the durability requirements for a public facility, the finishes, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment in Youth Centers should be comfortable and have a homelike quality:

• Provide ample natural light
• Provide a sense of welcome and arrival at the entrance, lobby, and control desk
• Use residential-style doors and windows
• Use indirect lighting as main ambient lighting, and
• Avoid institutional, unnatural finishes, textures, and colors.

Encourage Creativity

Part of the facility's mission is to encourage creative development. The project development process and final design can help accomplish this in several ways:

• Carefully consider interior colors and textures. Design the Youth Center to communicate a sense of fun, but use restraint (e.g., neutral tones for backgrounds and ceilings, with warm colors for accents). Consider wall murals in some common areas.
• Particularly for the teen room, consider guiding a teen focus group to select an interior color scheme
• Provide space and consider various techniques to display and celebrate youth artwork, and
• Design display areas to be easily changed and updated, minimize permanent graphics.

Encourage Autonomy

Youth centers are not schools. While supervision must be maintained at all times, the design should accommodate autonomy in the unstructured activity areas. The youth patrons should have independent access to the following:

• Snack bar and toilets
• Games, computers, and TV
• Friends and companions, and
• Quiet space for solitude.

Include Appropriate Space for Staff

Provide space to assist staff in developing and maintaining the center's programs and business. Outside of normal day-to-day operations, staff must be able to accomplish the following:

• Think and plan
• Meet and communicate
• Host visitors, and
• Store equipment and records.

Maintain a Safe and Healthy Environment

Design the facility to accommodate equipment and operational strategies to both protect the youth and maintain a healthy environment . Consider the following critical elements:

• Prevent unauthorized access by potentially dangerous personnel
• Provide visual access to all spaces to monitor potential child abuse situations
• Provide easily-cleaned finishes
• Use non-toxic building materials and improved maintenance practices
• Ensure good indoor air quality and abundant natural light, and
• Ensure that equipment, furnishings, and finishes do not contain asbestos or lead.

Youth Centers are not as carefully regulated as child care facilities, but many of the same standards may apply and, at a minimum, should be reviewed for information and insight. The DoD has additional criteria specific to their Youth centers that go beyond what the private sector may require. Therefore, additional DoD requirements have been included below.

Federal Mandates and Criteria

• Executive Order 13693, "Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade"
• DoD Instruction 6060.2 Child Developement Programs (CDPs)  
• DoD Instruction 6060.4 Youth Programs  
• UFC 4-740-06 Youth Centers

Standards and Guidelines

• ASTM F-355 Standard Test Method for Impact Attenuation of Playing Surface Systems, Other Protective Sport Systems, and Materials Used for Athletics, Recreation and Play
• Consumer Product Safety Commission, Public Playground Safety Handbook 
• EPA Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines for Park and Recreation Products

Organizations

• National AfterSchool Association (NAA) —A professional association dedicated to the development, education, and care of children and youth during their out-of-school hours
• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) —An advocacy organization for preschool care and education
• National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) —Serves as a governance and administrative structure for collegiate athletics
• National Federation of State High Schools (NFHS) —Provides national coordination for the administration of interscholastic activities
• National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) , at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College—An advocacy organization for programs serving children and youth

Publications

• Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8 , 3rd Edition , by Carol Copple and Sue Bredekamp, eds., National Association for the Education of Young Children
• The NAA Standards for Quality School-Age Care , The National AfterSchool Association

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INFORMATION FOR ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT-THE ROLE OF YOUTH ADVISORY CENTRES

2005, Youth Development Journal Profiling …

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Youth Development Journal Profiling …

Amuzweni Ngoma

Javier Lasida

James C Knowles

Arti Pandey

Mohamed Buheji

Today, there is still no discipline that address youth issues and specially at a time where youth make more than 80% of the migrants around the world. There is a clear gap in literature when we compare the world readiness to meet the quote of Franklin Roosevelt that called upon eight five years ago that if we cannot build the future for our youth, we can build our youth for the future. Roosevelt quote carries many meanings and insights that address how youth should see the opportunity of life, time and contribution with a mindset that create differentiation. This should in turn develop youth commitment and determination thus raise their natural wealth that can be capitalised upon by any country, community and/or organisation. Since the world need this natural wealth a special discipline dedicated for this cause that would help to " build youth " for a " better sustained future " is introduced and coined to be called " Youth Economy " .

Richardson K Edeme

In enhancing youth employability and entrepreneurship in Nigeria, the designing and funding of youth development programmes adopting a national approach is necessary but not a sufficient approach to poverty reduction. This is because there are discrepancies in the nature and rate of unemployment in various sectors, regions, communities, urban and rural areas in the country which cannot be tackled using a national approach. In other words, youth development programmes should concentrate, from formulation to implementation and feedback stage, on locality, nature of unemployment, basic natural resources available in a particular community; existing skills and businesses, which are usually practiced at subsistence level and other unique characteristics prevalent in such communities. Consequently, this study propose a new assessment framework that focuses on the local labour market that can employed in enhancing youth employability in Nigeria. In line with this, this study adopted the Positive Youth Model and evaluated the Millennium Village Projects (MVP) in Pampaida and Ikaram-Ibaram in Kaduna and Ondo State respectively to assess the viability of such projects towards enhancing youth employability and entrepreneurship .On the basis of the findings, this study recommends the replication of such project in all 9,555 wards in the country putting into consideration each ward’s comparative advantage in terms of skills and other resource endowment. These steps are necessary if Nigeria must achieve its core development goals.

Mohammed Asif

There is no single solution for youth employment, particularly for young women and men from poor and marginalized families. This is because they face multiple disadvantages e.g. lack of basic education, location, poverty, vulnerability, safety, etc. Because the problem is complex and multi-faceted, different solutions, often used in combination, are required that respond to the local context. To effectively achieve the goal of economic empowerment through employment for young women along with skills training other supportive interventions are needed, namely sensitizing parents and men on gender equality, ensuring VT services are available within the community where they reside, remedial education, English language and computer skills training and addressing their safety concerns, Non-formal skills training provided by Plan International India and its partners can be very effective in meeting the needs of fairly small, localised and unserved communities in both urban and rural spaces. Innovative, scalable and sustainable models are being created by Plan for promoting youth employment using digital technologies. Micro vocational centres that are IT enabled and use digital training / learning technologies are a way to take on the challenge of delivering on scale skills development for young women and men in marginalised communities.

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Social Work: the Latin American Youth Center

Historical review of agency, delivery of services, the adelante program, social policy, impressions/conclusion, reference list.

Today, in relation to social work field, many organizations seek to help individuals, families, couples, groups, and communities to improve their quality of life and wellbeing. This goal is accomplished through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, crisis, and intervention. Some communities try to address social problems with the help of the community they are located in or with the help of private funding (Latin American Youth Center, 2012).

The Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) was designed to help Latin youths in the Columbia Heights Community. In 1968, LAYC was put in place to fight the nonexistence of services in the rising Latino society. Many immigrants’ youths in the area were involved in or were at risk of violence, drugs, and gangs. The lack of resources in Columbia Heights Community made it hard for Latino youths to improve their lifestyle. According to a peer reviewed article by Gudino, Nadeem, Katoaka, and Lau (2011), Latino youths in low-income urban community are at risk of exposure to violence. There are many factors that explain the causes of before, during, and after migration. These factors include acculturation stress, language proficiency, and parental separations (Gudino et al., 2011).

Apparently, the attitude regarding migrants has currently improved following the establishment of policies such as the National Origins Formula, which have enhanced immigration opportunities while at the same time paving a way for more social services to cater for the rising population. Compared to the past, many individuals have access to services from private and non-governmental organizations, as well as non-profit organizations. The can get services that they cannot reach elsewhere. Social policies have been improved to change racist thinking between minority groups. They have helped to reduce conflicts between immigrants, hence facilitating the efforts of social workers. The need to mitigate in the vulnerable areas and solve social injustices was inevitable. Social workers focused on these areas. Therefore, this paper will focus on one particular organization, which is the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC), which operates as a non-profit organization.

Prior to opening its door as the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) in 1974, this organization offered assistance with education, after-school activities, and career enhancement programs. As indicated in the institution’s web page, LAYC’s mission “is to empower a diverse population of youth to achieve a successful transition to adulthood through multi-cultural, comprehensive, and innovative programs that address youths’ social, academic, and career needs” (LAYC Inc., 2013, Para. 1). LAYC focuses on helping youths with an array of services that range from social needs to academic assistance. In 2001, LAYC established the “Latin American Montessori Bilingual (LAMB) public charter school, which is the second public bilingual Montessori school in the USA and the first one in the District of Columbia” (LAYC Inc., 2013, Para. 3).

Besides, LAYC developed into a multicultural child and relations improvement base that served Latino teenagers while at the same time operating as a connection to the teenagers’ neighborhood. According to the LAYC, Lori Kaplan assumed the position of the administrative chief of the Latin American Youth Center during the close of 1980s (LAYC Inc., 2013; Latin American Youth Center, n.d). As LAYC continued to grow, this association incorporated itself as a non-profit organization. Through his guidance, LAYC has managed to nurture many less-privileged teenagers through promising job openings while establishing revolutionary associations and learning centers (Latin American Youth Center, n.d). Because of the inadequate back up from communal and confidential financiers, LAYC began to get city finances to improve teenage courses.

The LAYC organization has varieties of programs and target groups. I has set asides programs for college and employment preparation for high school seniors (Workforce Investment Act, College Access, Upward Bound), tutoring for middle-school students (AmeriCorps), gang prevention, arts projects, after-school programs, and tutoring for high-school students (Leaders Like Me, YETS). Other programs that the organization has implemented include transitional housing for the homeless and runaway youth (Host Homes, parent advocacy (Parents As Leaders), case management, counseling, Promoters Pathways), educational services (LAYC Charter School, AmeriCorps, GED programs), healthcare, awareness, and advocacy (Community Wellness, DC Prevention Center, Project STRIPES).

LAYC focuses heavily on youth empowerment. Youth empowerment includes “providing involvement opportunities, role modeling, knowledge, skill enhancement, and/or building a sense of personal agency or self-efficacy” (Western Australian Centre for Health Promotion Research, 2010). This approach is visible in the programming process by the curriculums that have been set in place for this plan. For educational programs at LAYC, literacy and mathematical skills are sharpened.

Moreover, several other strategies are incorporated to ensure that the participants complete the programs as competent individuals. Such strategies include the use of modern technology and updated curricula that match the requirements of the corporate world. Many of LAYC’s curricula involve life skills lessons, education about post-secondary alternatives, as well as career advancement training. This programming not only gives participants knowledge, but also imparts confidence that they need to make their own decisions and/or determine what is best for themselves.

Data collection is done through an online system, namely ‘efforts to outcome’, which records efforts, demographics, and outcomes. The system is used when requesting funding, reporting to funders, and promoting LAYC’s mission. In 1996, LAYC received its first federal grant for job training through AmeriCorps and Youth Build. LAYC also gets centralized, home, and classified financial support from the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services. The fund allows the organization to “launch youth programs in automobile mechanics, catering, and clerical skills” (LAYC Inc., 2013, Para. 5). Work instruction comprises lessons about English as a foreign tongue, a course to assist Latino teenagers to acquire a GED, post-education work opportunities, and an off-session teenage course.

In the Adelante Program, both Washington University and the Office of Health Disparities with NIH have partnered to provide funds to the Maryland Multicultural Youth Center (MMYC) to run this program (LAYC Inc., 2013).

The course is a research program that focuses on youth whose ages range between 14-24 years and their family members who not only live in the Langley Park area, but also are at risk of substance abuse and violence. The program takes a strength-based approach in addressing proficiency, input, and associates (LAYC Inc., 2013). The Adelante program offers opportunities such as leadership forums, family relationships, community development, and awareness programs. Some of the program’s expectations include realizing all grant requirements and providing case management to 150 youths. The expectations also include organizing community events that can increase the competence, connection, and contribution of youths in the Langley Park community (LAYC Inc., 2013).

Some desired outcomes include the reduction of risky sexual behavior and eliminating substance abuse and violence. For eighth-grade students, the desired outcomes include assisting in the successful transition to the tenth grade to prevent dropouts. Expectations in regards to high-school students include serving 75 youths and ensuring that they make a successful transition to their tenth and eleventh grade. In addition, these students are supposed to be equipped with life skills that will enable and empower them to become successful in life. To achieve these objectives, Adelante Program Manager plans to collaborate with another existing program at LAYC. This plan is enhanced by the fact that participants in the Adelante Program can access the services in various ways. For instance, some students voluntarily decide to join while others are required to attend by their institutions because of their grades or behavior (LAYC Inc., 2013).

Furthermore, the standards differ for each program based on the grant. However, for the Workforce Program, the requirements are stricter. The Workforce Program provides a holistic assistance in terms of career development such as interviewing skills, goal setting, life skills, communication, and conflict management. In addition, the program offers case management for youths to ensure successful transition to the corporate world. However, a criterion is used to gauge learners who are fit to join the program. For instance, students must be high school seniors in the corresponding county. They should be eligible to work in the United States. Besides, they must qualify as low-income families while at the same time demonstrating a challenge such as living in a single parent household or having a cumulative GPA below 2.0. They are required to provide any documentation that can prove that they are challenged. Thereafter, they are required to fill a packet of approximately 40 pages of paperwork.

Generally, staff members’ eligibility is based on their expertise and experience such as a Bachelor’s Degree in social work and some experience in working with children. In addition, their ability to follow and model positive youth development, being kind, caring, and being firm are other desired traits. Staff members must also demonstrate the capacity to successfully pass a background check. The main detail is the staff’s passion and commitment to making a difference in the lives of the participants.

Additionally, when LAYC loses a grant, it also suffers a loss of staff members. Therefore, staff members are sometimes brought into work from other programs or other sites. Each program has case managers, outreach workers, and program directors each of which has a crucial role to play in realizing the program’s agenda. For instance, the case managers work directly with the students in ensuring that they (students) are meeting the goals of a specific program. If any specific needs arise, they assist the students either with acquiring the appropriate services or passing along information to them on how they can obtain the required services. The outreach workers are in charge of recruiting students for the program.

They may take on various other tasks such as event planning and administrative tasks. Outreach workers usually have few cases of their own, but not as many as what case managers have. The program directors ensure that their staff members are focused on their task and that their clients’ needs are met. The social workers find it rewarding to see their students making progress and/or exiting the program as better people than they were at the commencement of the program.

However, there is no guarantee that students who end up benefiting from this program, probably due to family issues, will cease being part of the program. This observation is among the challenges that social workers at LAYC face. As much as they are willing to help, internal and external conflicts compel students to terminate the programs prematurely. Poor public transportation to access the suburbs is another challenge that LAYC workers encounter. LAYC has selected sites near transport hubs to help in overcoming the transportation challenge. Real estate around the LAYC structures is quite expensive, thus making it difficult to find enough space for youth programming.

One of the social policies that LAYC adopted to help in its operation was the Federal Fund Gang Prevention Initiative (FGPI) in the Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties. This regulation was developed in 2010 by President Barrack Obama’s administration. FGPI advanced a consolidation of career development programs, which enabled youths to attain jobs in the public service domain, as well as the private sector. This initiative aimed to streamline prevention operations to improve regional safety while at the same time keeping communities secure. It also aimed at engaging the youths in productive activities. LAYC management announced the plans at the Langley Park Community Center, which focused on engaging youths in safe alternative activities to ward them off from crime and gang affiliation (LAYC Inc., 2013).

Federal and local government provided funding for general operating expenditures. Local communities used these funds to improve their neighborhoods by supporting programs for prevention and intervention efforts. The programs were to be administered in various institutions among them being the LAYC. With the funding criterion that was transcribed in the policy guidelines, LAYC was elevated in a position to improve its services whilst offering high-standard training to the youths.

The social work practice was highly boosted by this new initiative, which enhanced service delivery due to the increased efficient structures. This social policy was necessary since it assisted in the acquisition of funds. In return, LAYC provided safe and stable homes for the youths to thrive. Achieving this goal happened in various ways. For instance, after the youths were provided with the right support services, most of them were able to gain positive development to become successful individuals in the society. This policy is critical in guiding service delivery to the youths by the social service workers. It emphasized equal chances to quality education, training, and job opportunities, particularly to the less privileged section of the community (Confronting Suburban Poverty in America, 2015).

This policy enhanced child protection. It also eased the issue of mainstreaming of students with disabilities. This social policy later led to a significant change in the populations of Latin America and beyond. LAYC’s management largely focused on improving social worker skills in a bid to provide more constructive outlets for youths into the corporate society. This move substantially reduced the threat of gang activities in the society and in a very organized manner. With adequate funds, LAYC will be better placed to create a more defined organization, which will demand worker accountability, efficiency, transparency, and integrity. This outcome will translate into a better organization after LAYC workers manifest compliance with the provisions of the Federal Fund Gang Prevention Act.

The organization does a great job by not only meeting the students’ needs, but also empowering them to become motivated and equipped young adults who cannot only improve their quality of life but also influence the quality of other peoples’ lives. Many staff members at LAYC are former participants of one or more of the organization’s programs. They are aware of the impact they make on participants’ lives. Hence, they are always willing to go above and beyond their job description for each participant. Services at LAYC are not simply afterschool activities to entertain youth. Rather, they are life-long skills and services that are meant to help youths to become successful in life.

As stated before, staffing can have drastic changes due to losing or acquiring grants, which can also have an effect on the participants and their willingness to return to the center after such staff changes. Overall, LAYC is a great non-profit organization that has helped many youths to develop and improve their lifestyle.

LAYC has been around for many years where it has been providing services for youths who are at high risk of drug abuse, gangs, and violence. This organization provides great varieties of services that help Latino youths to meet their social needs. LAYC majors much on teenage capacity building, including availing participation chances and convenient positive role models, information, and talent expansion. Through its many branches, the organization has been considered a breakthrough to the surrounding societies since they have gained significantly from it. Many youths who come from low-class families end up in drugs after missing opportunities to further their education. The stress that builds up in them pushes them to join counterproductive groups. However, through LAYC, many youths from this class have obtained sufficient skills and knowledge, which they can deploy to live an independent and constructive life.

Confronting Suburban Poverty in America. (2015). Latin American Youth Center: Adapting Urban Social Services for Suburban Communities. Web.

Gudino, G., Nadeem, E., Kataoka, H., & Lau, S. (2011). Relative impact of violence exposure and immigrant stressors on Latino youth psychopathology. Journal of Community Psychology , 39 (3), 316-335. Web.

Latin American Youth Center. (2012). LAYC Partners with DC SCORES Through Social Innovation Fund Sub-Grant from U.S. Soccer Foundation to Support Soccer for Success . Web.

Latin American Youth Center. (n.d). Overview. Web.

LAYC Inc. (2013). Bienvenidos . Web.

Western Australian Centre for Health Promotion Research. (2010). Youth empowerment . Web.

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Essays About Youth: Top 5 Essay Examples Plus 10 Prompts

Discover our guide with creative writing prompts and examples for essays about youth to help you get started on your next great essay!

Youth is that cusp between childhood and adulthood — a period filled with zest, adventure, and impulsiveness. Our future depends on the youth of today. As such, we are well-advised to equip ourselves with sufficient skills and knowledge to resolve future problems effectively. We must also train them to develop a moral compass, incredible determination, and deep compassion for others to serve well as future leaders.

5 Essay Examples

1. youth in revolt: five powerful movements fueled by young activist by erin blakemore, 2. what you can learn from a young ceo by elaine pofeldt, 3. advice to the youth by mark twain , 4. us youth are in a mental health crisis—we must invest in their care by mitchell j. prinstein, 5. young people are leaving their jobs in record numbers—and not going back by raisa bruner, 1. effects of social media on youth self-esteem, 2. youth’s learning crisis, 3. addressing youth obesity, 4. encouraging stem careers for youth, 5. engaging youth in community building, 6. why youth engage in cybercrime, 7. love for today’s youth, 8. national youth day, 9. substance abuse prevention for youth , 10. benefits of sex education to youth.

“Youth who participated in the civil rights movement embraced what one-time SNCC chairman Representative John Lewis called “good trouble”—fearless agitation designed to provoke, challenge, and move progress forward.”

Youth have always driven impactful social and political movements in whatever era and whichever part of the globe they are. This essay recounts some of history’s most powerful and meaningful protests mobilized by youth. Check out these essays about life lessons .

“Whether we needed to select a blogging platform or figure out how to keep costs down, we invariably found that younger CEOs were great sources of ideas.”

Gone are the days when one would purely seek older people for wisdom in business. With the competition in the digital age, youth are proving to bring in a wealth of ideas that can effectively support business strategies.

“Build your character thoughtfully and painstakingly upon these precepts, and by and by, when you have got it built, you will be surprised and gratified to see how nicely and sharply it resembles everybody else’s. ”

The American writer shows his humor and sarcasm by teaching youth the art of lying and handling firearms carelessly. Ultimately, he tells those who would succeed that they would be no different than the rest of society. 

“We have an opportunity to make a serious commitment to youth mental health, just as we did 70 years ago to help adults. This is a chance for parents, teachers, and youth to stop whispering about their mental health needs and begin shouting for our country to invest in its future and end our children’s suffering.”

As youth suicides have increased over the years, data shows that it is now the second leading cause of death among 10- to 24-year-olds. The situation demands urgent action and a rethink of the overall mental health system.

“For some, it’s burnout. For others, the timing was ripe to refocus on side projects as the stresses of the pandemic started to wane. And for many, especially in a service sector dominated by “zillennials”… poor treatment and low wages became unsustainable.”

The pandemic burnout has driven the Great Resignation among youth, leaving over 10 million jobs in the US unoccupied. This triggers a sea change in the societal landscape, where young workers pursue their self-worth and can afford to do so.

10 Thought-Provoking Prompts On Essays About Youth

While we all tend to compare our qualities and achievements to those of others, social media has made this habit worse. To youth, the biggest market of social media platforms, this has resulted in lower self-esteem, especially for girls . In your essay, gather present research that studies the links between social media use and low confidence levels. Then, recommend ways for young readers to spend more time in the real world and rebuild their self-esteem.

In recent years, it has been recognized that the world is facing a learning crisis that even the wealthier G20 countries are not exempt from . But as the COVID-19 pandemic has halted face-to-face school interactions for prolonged periods, what does the future of education and skills-building look like for our youth? Answer this with the support of research studies and data, and surveys from reputed organizations and agencies. Finally, enumerate the best ways to invest in our youth’s education.

Many cases of obesity among youth are due to the lack of exercise. For this topic prompt, lay down the negative effects of obesity, such as the increased likelihood of diabetes, hypertension, lack of self-esteem, and depression. Then, with research on wellness experts’ advice, encourage readers to change their lifestyle one step at a time to address or prevent obesity. For example, walking for 10 minutes to take a break from work could be a powerful start in changing a routine. 

No industry gains as much from youth’s ingenuity as the innovation industry. First, elaborate on the importance of developing youth’s scientific and technical skills. Then, look at how schools incorporate science, technology, engineering, and math into the curriculum, starting with your school. To conclude your essay, look at how intensive your government’s programs are in unlocking the inner scientists of today’s youth. 

Youth have the vigor and passion for changing the world. Because of this, they are one of the best groups to tap into for building a better community. To start this essay, look at the ratio of young volunteers to the total number of volunteers in your community. You can check this ratio in other communities and see how active your youth are in volunteer community work compared to others. Then, enumerate interesting practices cities can adopt to attract youth to participate in their programs. 

The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency has reported a 107% annual increase in police reports of young students engaging in cyberattacks in 2020. Dig deeper into this report and find out the main motivations why young offenders would join the dark side in cyberspace. Is it for the millions of bucks or the sense of validation in the hacking community? Then identify some best practices law enforcement authorities and schools are implementing to thwart cybercrime among youth.

Young love has always been defined by its wild passions and adventures. Does this hold today in this digital age? How have relationships evolved in the age of social media? Mull over these questions and look at other modern trends in young love. For example, many claims that internet relationships, where couples meet and interact purely online, constitute true love. 

Celebrated every August 12, International Youth Day (IYD) aims to raise awareness of youth’s pressing challenges. Your essay can revolve around the focus of the last or upcoming celebration theme. Then, reflect on the issue’s relevance and what actions you think society can take to ease the problem. For example, the 2022 IYD is themed “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages.” This expounds on fostering solidarity across generations to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prevention is always better than cure. In this essay, search for data on youths reportedly battling drug abuse. Highlight an upward trend, if any. Then, highlight the risk factors that lead youth to drug or alcohol abuse and the consequences on health and overall well-being. You may also pay attention to the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s 16 key principles for determining the most suitable prevention programs. 

A research study has found that aside from preventing early pregnancy and the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, comprehensive sex education helps youth feel safe and achieve success in the long term. Examine these benefits and cite the negative effects of a lack of sex education during youth. Finally, it underscores schools’ critical roles in integrating sex education and protecting students. 

If you need further guidance, check out our essay writing tips . Finally, don’t forget to proofread your essay using the best grammar checkers .

Yna Lim is a communications specialist currently focused on policy advocacy. In her eight years of writing, she has been exposed to a variety of topics, including cryptocurrency, web hosting, agriculture, marketing, intellectual property, data privacy and international trade. A former journalist in one of the top business papers in the Philippines, Yna is currently pursuing her master's degree in economics and business.

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Youth Centre Philosophy and Benefits

Mission statement:.

The City of Greater Sudbury Youth Centres are committed to the development of programming that promotes a positive educational environment for youth within the city.  Youth centres provide an environment where all participants regardless of sex, race, religion, and economic status feel safe and understood. 

Philosophy: 

Youth Centres provide a safe and supervised facility for youth to engage in educational programs and leisure activities which encourage the growth of positive self-esteem. Youth who attend our centres are able to freely express their opinions without fear of judgement, and are encouraged to participate in the development of programming. The participants’ ages range from 10 to 18 years

Youth Centres allow young people to drop in and participate in a variety of supervised activities. Participants are able to come and go to this program freely, and are unsupervised once they leave the program. There are no barriers to entry and centres do not charge a registration fee. Centres offer a wide range of activities including: sports, billiards, video games, movie nights, chat time, and guest presentations on current issues. Centres offer internet access, homework assistance, peer mentoring, and educational workshops that will encourage making healthy life choices. The sites connect youth with the local community, encouraging volunteerism to make a difference. Centres pride themselves on being smoke, drug and alcohol-free venues for young people to interact in a safe and non-judgmental environment.

Youth taking advantage of these drop-in facilities will enjoy:

• increased physical fitness levels
• increased employment opportunities by learning résumé writing and interview skills
• getting involved in the community, thereby fostering and promoting civic engagement
• spending time with other youth in a non-judgmental environment where they feel safe
• developing leadership skills
• developing budgeting and fundraising skills through special event planning
• having their achievements recognized and celebrated
• having access to service agencies and referral services to which they may otherwise not have access

There’s a new way to register for leisure programs or book a facility. It’s easy to create an account! If you need help getting started, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page .

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The French interface of our new registration system is still under development, however it is important that the City goes live with the new system as the existing registration and facility booking system is no longer supported by the vendor. Residents can still receive this service in French by calling 311 to have a French-speaking operator process bookings or registrations. The French interface will be launched in time for the fall/winter registration period.

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Leading in developing our nation

Download the report, book the space in our center, check out the arab youth facts interactive platform, listen to audiobooks, check our arab youth blogs, share your research on the research platform.

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Empowering and skilling young people is a key pillar for development in Arab societies.

documentary produced by Sky News Arabia about youth engagement work in the Arab region

Social feed, apply now to the arab youth hackathon.

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Palmetto Youth Center’s Martin Luther King, Jr. speech & essay winners announced

The Palmetto Youth Center announced the winners of their annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Speech & Essay Contest.

Participating Manatee County middle and high school students completed a 500–700-word essay on the following topic: “How did Martin Luther King, Jr. influence people? Do you believe his methods would be as effective in today’s world?”

Provided photo

The top essay was written by 12 th grader Stefan Roggendorf from Lakewood Ranch High School. Second place was awarded to senior Ervin Bautista-Limon from Bayshore High School.

In the middle school category, the following students were recognized: First Place – 8 th grader Hailey Wahlmann, Dr. Mona Jain Middle School; Second Place – 8 th grader Georgia Pigliavento, Dr. Mona Jain Middle School; Third Place – 8 th grader Katarina Paben, Dr. Mona Jain Middle School; Honorable Mention – 7 th grader Ju’Juan Goff, Lincoln Memorial Middle School, and Honorable Mention – 8 th grader Phillip Huynh from Sugg Middle School.

The grand prize winners each received a computer and $150, second place earned $100, and third place received $75 at a banquet sponsored by The Palmetto Youth Center on January 12, 2024.

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2024 Space4Youth Competition   - Governance of outer space activities: securing space sustainability for future generations

16 April 2024

WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

We are thrilled to announce the outstanding winners of the 2024 Space4Youth Essay Competition, organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC). This year, the competition received an exceptional array of essays from young minds around the globe, each offering unique perspectives on the theme of space governance and the sustainable use of outer space.

The winners are  (in alphabetical order): 

• Basubas Florence Pauline , Philippines. Title of the essay: " Preserving Space for Generations: Inclusivity in a Common Framework for the Space Sustainability Rating "
• Croison Charlotte , France. Title of the essay: " United for space sustainability: the (Stick) and Carrot Approach "
• Jannink Stephen , New Zealand. Title of the essay: " A Stellar Personality: Legal personality as a means for sustainable governance of outer space "

Additionally, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all participants for their passion, creativity, and dedication in addressing the challenges and opportunities of space exploration through their essays.

Thanks to the generous support of the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna , the winners of the 2024 Space4Youth Essay Competition will have the unique opportunity to participate in the Adult Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama .

We congratulate the winners on their remarkable achievement and express our gratitude to everyone who contributed to the success of this competition. Thank you!

Essay competition information (closed)

• To apply, please register and submit the abstract through the Space for Youth Competition Form  by 11 February 2024 , 23:59 CET.
• Please note that you will have to insert your  abstract directly in the online form. We suggest you prepare the abstract ahead of completing the application form.
• Results of the abstracts selection will be communicated to successful candidates by 23  February 2024, 23:59 CET.
• Successful candidates shall submit their essay. The deadline is 15 March 2024, 23:59 CET. 

Award for authors of best essays

• The U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna will support this year's Space4Youth competition by providing the authors of the best 3 essays with a trip to the United States to meet with representatives of the U.S. space sector and attend an Adult Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama (1) .
• The 3 best essays will be uploaded on the UNOOSA "Space for Youth" webpage. 
• The authors of the best 3 essays may be invited to attend other international events.
• Priority will be given to participants from developing countries .  

(1) Confirmation and satisfaction of U.S. visa approval will be required.

• April 23, 2024 News LSC 2024 Journal No.8
• February 9, 2024 Publications ST/SPACE/88 - The “Space2030” Agenda: Space as a Driver of Sustainable Development
• April 23, 2024 Reports LSC 2024 Journal No.8

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Juvenile Detention: Many Youth Face Long Stays in Facility Designed for Short-Term Support

Published april 24, 2024.

King County does not have structures in place to consistently meet the varied needs of youth in secure detention at the Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center (CCFJC). Due to policy changes at the state and local level, King County holds fewer youth in secure detention today, on average, than it did five years ago. As a result, the youth that are there face more serious charges and stay longer. However, CCFJC secure detention is designed for short-term stays and the support provided there does not meet the educational, enrichment, and mental health needs of youth with long periods of detention. Further, staffing shortages present operational challenges that result in youth spending more time confined to their cells. Youth report experiencing boredom, uncertainty, and stress during their time housed in secure detention. Despite ongoing efforts to end secure detention for youth in King County, youth will continue to be held at CCFJC for at least the next four years — and some for longer. We make recommendations to address gaps in care for youth in secure detention in King County.

Audit Highlights

What we found expand_more.

The average amount of time youth spend in secure detention in the Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center (CCFJC) while waiting for their cases to resolve has grown over time. Overall, the average length of stay for youth in secure detention tripled between 2017 and mid-2023, increasing from 12 days to 39 days. Over 200 youth had stays longer than 100 days in secure detention. While lengths of stay are long for youth facing adult charges, we found that lengths of stay are also growing for youth facing juvenile charges. Secure detention at CCFJC is designed for short-term stays, and the support provided there does not meet the educational, enrichment, and mental health needs of youth facing long periods of detention. King County does not provide long-term mental health programs to those in secure detention, nor does it offer behavior or substance abuse treatment or job training. In addition, low staffing levels have led to shortened school periods, canceled enrichment sessions, and more cell time for youth, which increases their stress levels. The Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD) has attempted several hiring pushes over the last two years with some success, but negative culture and lack of a mechanism for positive performance improvement make continuous improvement difficult.

Youth shared concerns about the living conditions within CCFJC secure detention, disruptions to daily routines, and limited visitation. According to youth, these challenges can cause stress and increase the risk of violence and mental health-related incidents in the facility.

What We Recommend expand_more

We make recommendations for King County to address the therapeutic and skills development needs of youth held in secure detention for long lengths of stay. We also make recommendations to DAJD management to make operational changes such as modifying its housing classification system, providing performance reviews and coaching opportunities between staff and supervisors, and improving youth access to the independent grievance process available through the Office of the Ombuds.

Why This Audit is Important expand_more

Although the King County Executive has been working toward ending youth detention, the County Executive’s Care and Closure Advisory Committee has pushed this goal back to 2028, at the earliest, for youth facing juvenile charges, and likely beyond that for youth facing adult charges. Therefore, youth will continue to be held in secure detention at CCFJC for the time being. These youth have increasingly long lengths of stay and complex therapeutic needs that the status quo is not addressing — particularly for youth facing adult charges. Without the appropriate services to meet their needs in a timely manner, youth in secure detention can face negative long-term impacts to their wellbeing.

Summer 2024 Admissions Open Now. Sign up for upcoming live information sessions here (featuring former and current Admission Officers at Havard and UPenn).

Discourse, debate, and analysis

Cambridge re:think essay competition 2024.

Competition Opens: 15th January, 2024

Essay Submission Deadline: 10th May, 2024 Result Announcement: 20th June, 2024 Award Ceremony and Dinner at the University of Cambridge: 30th July, 2024

We welcome talented high school students from diverse educational settings worldwide to contribute their unique perspectives to the competition.

Entry to the competition is free.

About the Competition

The spirit of the Re:think essay competition is to encourage critical thinking and exploration of a wide range of thought-provoking and often controversial topics. The competition covers a diverse array of subjects, from historical and present issues to speculative future scenarios. Participants are invited to engage deeply with these topics, critically analysing their various facets and implications. It promotes intellectual exploration and encourages participants to challenge established norms and beliefs, presenting opportunities to envision alternative futures, consider the consequences of new technologies, and reevaluate longstanding traditions. 

Ultimately, our aim is to create a platform for students and scholars to share their perspectives on pressing issues of the past and future, with the hope of broadening our collective understanding and generating innovative solutions to contemporary challenges. This year’s competition aims to underscore the importance of discourse, debate, and critical analysis in addressing complex societal issues in nine areas, including:

Religion and Politics

Political science and law, linguistics, environment, sociology and philosophy, business and investment, public health and sustainability, biotechonology.

Artificial Intelligence 

Neuroengineering

2024 essay prompts.

This year, the essay prompts are contributed by distinguished professors from Harvard, Brown, UC Berkeley, Cambridge, Oxford, and MIT.

Essay Guidelines and Judging Criteria

Review general guidelines, format guidelines, eligibility, judging criteria.

Awards and Award Ceremony

Award winners will be invited to attend the Award Ceremony and Dinner hosted at the King’s College, University of Cambridge. The Dinner is free of charge for select award recipients.

Registration and Submission

Register a participant account today and submit your essay before the deadline.

Advisory Committee and Judging Panel

The Cambridge Re:think Essay Competition is guided by an esteemed Advisory Committee comprising distinguished academics and experts from elite universities worldwide. These committee members, drawn from prestigious institutions, such as Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, and MIT, bring diverse expertise in various disciplines.

They play a pivotal role in shaping the competition, contributing their insights to curate the themes and framework. Their collective knowledge and scholarly guidance ensure the competition’s relevance, academic rigour, and intellectual depth, setting the stage for aspiring minds to engage with thought-provoking topics and ideas.

We are honoured to invite the following distinguished professors to contribute to this year’s competition.

The judging panel of the competition comprises leading researchers and professors from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Cambridge, and Oxford, engaging in a strictly double blind review process.

Keynote Speeches by 10 Nobel Laureates

We are beyond excited to announce that multiple Nobel laureates have confirmed to attend and speak at this year’s ceremony on 30th July, 2024 .

They will each be delivering a keynote speech to the attendees. Some of them distinguished speakers will speak virtually, while others will attend and present in person and attend the Reception at Cambridge.

Why has religion remained a force in a secular world? 

Professor Commentary:

Arguably, the developed world has become more secular in the last century or so. The influence of Christianity, e.g. has diminished and people’s life worlds are less shaped by faith and allegiance to Churches. Conversely, arguments have persisted that hold that we live in a post-secular world. After all, religion – be it in terms of faith, transcendence, or meaning – may be seen as an alternative to a disenchanted world ruled by entirely profane criteria such as economic rationality, progressivism, or science. Is the revival of religion a pale reminder of a by-gone past or does it provide sources of hope for the future?

‘Religion in the Public Sphere’ by Jürgen Habermas (European Journal of Philosophy, 2006)

In this paper, philosopher Jürgen Habermas discusses the limits of church-state separation, emphasizing the significant contribution of religion to public discourse when translated into publicly accessible reasons.

‘Public Religions in the Modern World’ by José Casanova (University Of Chicago Press, 1994)

Sociologist José Casanova explores the global emergence of public religion, analyzing case studies from Catholicism and Protestantism in Spain, Poland, Brazil, and the USA, challenging traditional theories of secularization.

‘The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere’ by Judith Butler, Jürgen Habermas, Charles Taylor, and Cornel West (Edited by Eduardo Mendieta and Jonathan VanAntwerpen, Columbia University Press, 2011)

This collection features dialogues by prominent intellectuals on the role of religion in the public sphere, examining various approaches and their impacts on cultural, social, and political debates.

‘Rethinking Secularism’ by Craig Calhoun, Mark Juergensmeyer, and Jonathan VanAntwerpen (Oxford University Press, 2011)

An interdisciplinary examination of secularism, this book challenges traditional views, highlighting the complex relationship between religion and secularism in contemporary global politics.

‘God is Back: How the Global Rise of Faith is Changing the World’ by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (Penguin, 2010)

Micklethwait and Wooldridge argue for the coexistence of religion and modernity, suggesting that religious beliefs can contribute to a more open, tolerant, and peaceful modern world.

‘Multiculturalism’ by Tariq Modood (Polity Press, 2013)

Sociologist Tariq Modood emphasizes the importance of multiculturalism in integrating diverse identities, particularly in post-immigration contexts, and its role in shaping democratic citizenship.

‘God’s Agents: Biblical Publicity in Contemporary England’ by Matthew Engelke (University of California Press, 2013)

In this ethnographic study, Matthew Engelke explores how a group in England seeks to expand the role of religion in the public sphere, challenging perceptions of religion in post-secular England.

Gene therapy is a medical approach that treats or prevents disease by correcting the underlying genetic problem. Is gene therapy better than traditional medicines? What are the pros and cons of using gene therapy as a medicine? Is gene therapy justifiable?

Especially after Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, gene therapy is getting more and more interesting approach to cure. That’s why that could be interesting to think about. I believe that students will enjoy and learn a lot while they are investigating this topic.

The Hall at King’s College, Cambridge

The Hall was designed by William Wilkins in the 1820s and is considered one of the most magnificent halls of its era. The first High Table dinner in the Hall was held in February 1828, and ever since then, the splendid Hall has been where members of the college eat and where formal dinners have been held for centuries.

The Award Ceremony and Dinner will be held in the Hall in the evening of  30th July, 2024.

Stretching out down to the River Cam, the Back Lawn has one of the most iconic backdrop of King’s College Chapel. 

The early evening reception will be hosted on the Back Lawn with the iconic Chapel in the background (weather permitting). 

King’s College Chapel

With construction started in 1446 by Henry VI and took over a century to build, King’s College Chapel is one of the most iconic buildings in the world, and is a splendid example of late Gothic architecture. 

Attendees are also granted complimentary access to the King’s College Chapel before and during the event. 

Confirmed Nobel Laureates

Dr Thomas R. Cech

The nobel prize in chemistry 1989 , for the discovery of catalytic properties of rna.

Thomas Robert Cech is an American chemist who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Sidney Altman, for their discovery of the catalytic properties of RNA. Cech discovered that RNA could itself cut strands of RNA, suggesting that life might have started as RNA. He found that RNA can not only transmit instructions, but also that it can speed up the necessary reactions.

He also studied telomeres, and his lab discovered an enzyme, TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase), which is part of the process of restoring telomeres after they are shortened during cell division.

As president of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, he promoted science education, and he teaches an undergraduate chemistry course at the University of Colorado

Sir Richard J. Roberts

The nobel prize in medicine 1993 .

F or the discovery of split genes

During 1969–1972, Sir Richard J. Roberts did postdoctoral research at Harvard University before moving to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he was hired by James Dewey Watson, a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA and a fellow Nobel laureate. In this period he also visited the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology for the first time, working alongside Fred Sanger. In 1977, he published his discovery of RNA splicing. In 1992, he moved to New England Biolabs. The following year, he shared a Nobel Prize with his former colleague at Cold Spring Harbor Phillip Allen Sharp.

His discovery of the alternative splicing of genes, in particular, has had a profound impact on the study and applications of molecular biology. The realisation that individual genes could exist as separate, disconnected segments within longer strands of DNA first arose in his 1977 study of adenovirus, one of the viruses responsible for causing the common cold. Robert’s research in this field resulted in a fundamental shift in our understanding of genetics, and has led to the discovery of split genes in higher organisms, including human beings.

Dr Aaron Ciechanover

The nobel prize in chemistry 2004 .

F or the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation

Aaron Ciechanover is one of Israel’s first Nobel Laureates in science, earning his Nobel Prize in 2004 for his work in ubiquitination. He is honored for playing a central role in the history of Israel and in the history of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Dr Ciechanover is currently a Technion Distinguished Research Professor in the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute at the Technion. He is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Russian Academy of Sciences and is a foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences. In 2008, he was a visiting Distinguished Chair Professor at NCKU, Taiwan. As part of Shenzhen’s 13th Five-Year Plan funding research in emerging technologies and opening “Nobel laureate research labs”, in 2018 he opened the Ciechanover Institute of Precision and Regenerative Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen campus.

Dr Robert Lefkowitz

The nobel prize in chemistry 2012 .

F or the discovery of G protein-coupled receptors

Robert Joseph Lefkowitz is an American physician (internist and cardiologist) and biochemist. He is best known for his discoveries that reveal the inner workings of an important family G protein-coupled receptors, for which he was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Brian Kobilka. He is currently an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as well as a James B. Duke Professor of Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry at Duke University.

Dr Lefkowitz made a remarkable contribution in the mid-1980s when he and his colleagues cloned the gene first for the β-adrenergic receptor, and then rapidly thereafter, for a total of 8 adrenergic receptors (receptors for adrenaline and noradrenaline). This led to the seminal discovery that all GPCRs (which include the β-adrenergic receptor) have a very similar molecular structure. The structure is defined by an amino acid sequence which weaves its way back and forth across the plasma membrane seven times. Today we know that about 1,000 receptors in the human body belong to this same family. The importance of this is that all of these receptors use the same basic mechanisms so that pharmaceutical researchers now understand how to effectively target the largest receptor family in the human body. Today, as many as 30 to 50 percent of all prescription drugs are designed to “fit” like keys into the similarly structured locks of Dr Lefkowitz’ receptors—everything from anti-histamines to ulcer drugs to beta blockers that help relieve hypertension, angina and coronary disease.

Dr Lefkowitz is among the most highly cited researchers in the fields of biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and clinical medicine according to Thomson-ISI.

Dr Joachim Frank

The nobel prize in chemistry 2017 .

F or developing cryo-electron microscopy

Joachim Frank is a German-American biophysicist at Columbia University and a Nobel laureate. He is regarded as the founder of single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017 with Jacques Dubochet and Richard Henderson. He also made significant contributions to structure and function of the ribosome from bacteria and eukaryotes.

In 1975, Dr Frank was offered a position of senior research scientist in the Division of Laboratories and Research (now Wadsworth Center), New York State Department of Health,where he started working on single-particle approaches in electron microscopy. In 1985 he was appointed associate and then (1986) full professor at the newly formed Department of Biomedical Sciences of the University at Albany, State University of New York. In 1987 and 1994, he went on sabbaticals in Europe, one to work with Richard Henderson, Laboratory of Molecular Biology Medical Research Council in Cambridge and the other as a Humboldt Research Award winner with Kenneth C. Holmes, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. In 1998, Dr Frank was appointed investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Since 2003 he was also lecturer at Columbia University, and he joined Columbia University in 2008 as professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and of biological sciences.

Dr Barry C. Barish

The nobel prize in physics 2017 .

For the decisive contributions to the detection of gravitational waves

Dr Barry Clark Barish is an American experimental physicist and Nobel Laureate. He is a Linde Professor of Physics, emeritus at California Institute of Technology and a leading expert on gravitational waves.

In 2017, Barish was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics along with Rainer Weiss and Kip Thorne “for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves”. He said, “I didn’t know if I would succeed. I was afraid I would fail, but because I tried, I had a breakthrough.”

In 2018, he joined the faculty at University of California, Riverside, becoming the university’s second Nobel Prize winner on the faculty.

In the fall of 2023, he joined Stony Brook University as the inaugural President’s Distinguished Endowed Chair in Physics.

In 2023, Dr Barish was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Biden in a White House ceremony.

Dr Harvey J. Alter

The nobel prize in medicine 2020 .

For the discovery of Hepatitis C virus

Dr Harvey J. Alter is an American medical researcher, virologist, physician and Nobel Prize laureate, who is best known for his work that led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. Alter is the former chief of the infectious disease section and the associate director for research of the Department of Transfusion Medicine at the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. In the mid-1970s, Alter and his research team demonstrated that most post-transfusion hepatitis cases were not due to hepatitis A or hepatitis B viruses. Working independently, Alter and Edward Tabor, a scientist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, proved through transmission studies in chimpanzees that a new form of hepatitis, initially called “non-A, non-B hepatitis” caused the infections, and that the causative agent was probably a virus. This work eventually led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus in 1988, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2020 along with Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice.

Dr Alter has received recognition for the research leading to the discovery of the virus that causes hepatitis C. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award conferred to civilians in United States government public health service, and the 2000 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research.

Dr Ardem Patapoutian

The nobel prize in medicine 2021 .

For discovering how pressure is translated into nerve impulses

Dr Ardem Patapoutian is an Lebanese-American molecular biologist, neuroscientist, and Nobel Prize laureate of Armenian descent. He is known for his work in characterising the PIEZO1, PIEZO2, and TRPM8 receptors that detect pressure, menthol, and temperature. Dr Patapoutian is a neuroscience professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California. In 2021, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with David Julius.

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Death of youth found outside Halifax mall ruled homicide, 2 suspects arrested

Halifax regional police responded to a call of an injured person in a parking lot monday.

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Two suspects have been arrested after the death of a male youth found injured Monday in a Halifax mall parking lot.

The death is being investigated as a homicide, said Halifax Regional Police in a news release.

Officers responded to a report of an injured person in a parking lot next to Mumford Road at the Halifax Shopping Centre just after 5 p.m. local time.

The male youth was taken to hospital where he died from his injuries. 

Two suspects were arrested on a Halifax Transit bus in the area of North Street around 5:25 p.m., said police.

Police have not publicly identified the victim or said how he died. The names and ages of the suspects have not been released.

"Officers will have a visible presence at the scene for an extended period of time as the investigation continues," police said in the news release several hours after they were first called to the scene.

Police are asking anyone with information or video from the area to call them at 902-490-5020. 

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‘It’s shocking’: rise in UK shopping centre staff wearing stab vests as violence soars

Body armour suppliers say demand for protective clothing has risen sharply in past two years

Staff wearing stab vests in shopping centres are becoming an increasingly common sight across the UK, after soaring demand for body armour amid a rise in violent and abusive incidents.

A British Retail Consortium report found that instances of violence and abuse in shopping centres rose 65% from 2021-22 to 2022-23. Body armour suppliers say demand for stab vests to be worn by shopping centre security staff has soared in the past two years.

Last week, a shopping centre became the scene of a crime that was broadcast around the world after a man armed with a knife attacked people at Bondi Junction mall in Sydney , Australia, killing six.

In shopping centres in the UK, on-site police presence has increased. In January, the Trafford Centre in Manchester opened a police station with officers stationed there.

Violence in and around shopping centres is not restricted to big cities. In West Bromwich two stabbing incidents have occurred near the New Square shopping centre since 2021, including the murder of a 15-year-old boy this month. In Slough, two teenagers were stabbed at the Queensmere Observatory shopping centre in January 2023.

In Ashford, Kent , cleaning staff at the County Square shopping centre have been supplied with stab vests since last summer. The area is a county lines hotspot and drug-taking has become common place on the high street outside the shopping centre. One local charity worker, who did not want to be named, said there had been a rise in synthetic drug-taking, including fentanyl.

When the Guardian visited Ashford on Wednesday, there were many vacant lots in the shopping centre, including a large, shuttered Debenhams. Security staff patrolled the mostly empty centre and cleaners vacuumed play areas wearing cumbersome stab vests. In the town centre, many shops were boarded up and closed for good.

Rhia Harrup, 28, works in a tattoo parlour in a cul-de-sac surrounded by shuttered shops. “It’s shocking. I think people who are trying to do their [working in shops] should be the last people who are having to wear something to protect themselves. It’s really sad,” she said.

Recently, the windows of the tattoo parlour were smashed in. “There’s lots of antisocial behaviour around here. We see it really frequently. There’s a lot of people who drink during the day, walking past shouting and screaming, that’s what I see the most of,” Harrup added.

Demand for stab vests for shopping centre security staff has increased across the country. Jim Still, the head of business development at PPSS Group, which supplies seven of the 10 largest shopping centres in the UK with body armour, said that since last year the company has seen a huge increase in inquires from shopping centres.

“About five years ago, it wasn’t so popular for security staff in retail and shopping centres to wear stab vests because clients felt there was a perception that was potentially confrontational or aggressive,” he said.

Still said there had been a rise in people carrying spiked weapons, including hypodermic needles from drug users and screwdrivers and ice picks, which could be bought online for less than £10. He said he had provided body armour only to security staff so far but stab vests issued to front-of-house staff, including cleaners, could become more commonplace.

“I was in a shopping centre earlier this year and there were drug takers in the toilets. It’s the cleaning staff that are in there and the drug users can be quite aggressive towards them, so I can understand it. It’s a sorry state of affairs when cleaning staff are wearing body armour too,” he said.

Jason Rigby, a business development manager for the body armour firm Defence Composites, also said there had been an increase in demand for the company’s products amid a rise in shopping centre violence. “I’ve seen CCTV footage myself of people pulling large knives and machetes on security staff and customers,” he said.

He said the company had developed softer-looking, bespoke body armour to combat concerns about the image traditional body armour portrayed to customers. “People want something a bit softer, whether that’s a covert covering that can be worn under clothing or even a waistcoat-style body armour, which some shopping centres have asked us to produce.”

A spokesperson for the County Square shopping centre said: “There is no differentiation between our security and cleaning teams, who are both considered front-of-house staff and received, and started wearing, their vests at the same time. [This is] part of their PPE, which is becoming standard issue in the shopping centre industry. We are a responsible employer and continue to observe and make changes to our daily operation to ensure our teams are safe and feel safe in their duties.

“We certainly have no evidence of drug users loitering outside the centre either, so I am unable to comment,” the spokesperson said, adding that they were “stunned that such a positive move has received the volume of [negative] media attention it has”.

• Knife crime
• Retail industry

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‘Justice not served,’ says Nottingham victim’s mother as Valdo Calocane sentenced

Why is knife crime back in the news and what is being proposed?

Why I carried a knife: ‘The only way is to defend yourself. My life was under attack’

Idris Elba argues against mandatory prison sentences for carrying a knife

Starmer vows that Labour will ‘get a grip’ on knife crime

Idris Elba calls for immediate ban on machetes and ‘zombie’ knives

Man guilty of murdering girlfriend and three members of her family in London

Colchester man jailed for life after murdering wife in ‘jealous rage’

Labour will set up ‘young futures’ youth programme to tackle knife crime

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