Picture credit: The Mayor of Wandsworth, Councillor Jane Cooper with young people and staff who participated in Takeover Challenge
Young people from Wandsworth have been presented with their Youthpass certificates for taking part in a project to expand the Takeover Challenge into other countries.
The Takeover Challenge gives young people the chance to ‘take over’ the jobs of senior decision makers. It is organised nationally by the Children’s Commissioner for England and is run locally by the Wandsworth Youth Council.
This summer, with funding from the EU Erasmus Plus project, the Youth worked with Wandsworth Lifelong Learning to develop a toolkit to replicate the event with partners in Italy, Romania and Spain.
Forty young people from the three different countries, including care leavers from Wandsworth, took part in a training camp in Transylvania. They tried out some of the activities in the toolkit, shared ideas of leadership and discovered more about each other’s lives.
The Youthpass certificate recognises what the young people have learned and celebrates the social value and citizenship of their work.
The pan-European project will continue to be developed until the end of May 2020 and will include mini takeover days.
The Youth Council will work with the council to organise Takeover events in Wandsworth over the coming months, many of which will focus on ensuring the views of young people are reflected in the council’s strategy to tackle climate change.
Cabinet member for economic development, skills and employment, Cllr Jonathan Cook, said: “By linking up the Young Council with Wandsworth Lifelong Learning the aim is link the Takeover Challenge much more closely with work experience and job opportunities for young people moving into adulthood. I look forward to seeing how the project develops over the next few months.”
The Wandsworth Youth Council is made up of local young people who work to give the borough’s youth a voice in decision making. Find out more at www.wandsworth.gov.uk/youth or follow @WBCYouthCouncil on twitter.
Wandsworth Lifelong Learning is the council’s adult education service enabling more than 8,000 people a year of all different stages learn new skills for their own sake and to improve their job prospects. Find out more at wandsworthlifelonglearning.org.uk or follow @WBCLLearning on twitter.
Highlights from Takeover Challenge in Transylvania
