As we have reported the Choose Youth alliance, of which we are a committed member, is organising a Youth bloc on the TUC Rally in London this coming Saturday, March 26.  The impressive and large Choose Youth  banner will be conspicuous by its presence in a strategic position on the Embankment from 11.00 a.m. More precise info will be available throughout the proceedings via Twitter.  If possible, participants are being asked to wear a gold armband on the left arm. Search the loft for some Xmas tinsel! Obviously everyone is hoping to see a vibrant and creative youth presence on the day.

However people turning up on the day need to be aware of possible frustrations. The TUC website suggests:

We are asking people to form up from 11am at Victoria Embankment, but we don’t expect the last marchers to leave until well after 2pm.’

‘The march will leave at noon and then head to Hyde Park for the rally. This will start around 1:30.’

People are told not to leave the march. And thus many will be left betwixt and between. The  notion that a policed march from A to B, followed by a platform regulated to give prime time to the twin Eds, Milliband and Balls, will energise collective resistance; will lead those attending to say, ‘ we’re chuffed we spent seven hours on a coach getting here, we’re inspired to go back home full of fight and enthusiasm’ is at best naive, at worst deceitful.  What we will have going for us are the young people themselves, who have been taking the lead in fighting back, actually getting together, swapping stories and addresses. Our hope is that these young people will be sufficiently motivated to organise a preliminary meeting for themselves to discuss what they might want to do collectively over the coming months. It might well be that the British Youth Council and UK Parliament are up for mucking in on such a development.

Of course young people and youth workers on the march are faced with concerns and contradictions. How will the march be policed? The TUC and the police have been in close liaison, although there are dissenting voices.

Workers bringing young people ‘in loco parentis’ will be particularly stressed. And not everybody, by a long chalk, is going to obey bureaucratic edict. So, just so you know what else might be kicking off, visit Freedom Press for a useful map and info.

Saturday is going to be a pivotal moment in the struggle to defend youth work, youth services, an autonomous voluntary sector and crucially public services as a whole.  It is critical that the event leaves participants feeling optimistic and energised. Here’s hoping!

If it’s any help, please use the IDYW Facebook to post messages about meeting up on Saturday.

Indeed the Choose Youth campaign itself will benefit enormously from an injection of adrenalin. At its last meeting held in the Houses of Parliament on March 7 significant differences were emerging within its ranks. In particular the NCVYS was expressing a concern that the campaign was being unduly critical of the government’s initiatives. It argued that it was vital to be working within the system, even suggesting that activity outside the corridors of power and influence might be perceived as disruptive.  Indeed a significant consequence of its courting of the political class took place on March 9, a self-styled Positive for Youth Summit, addressed by both Nick Clegg, the Deputy Premier and Tim Loughton, the Minister for Youth. It was billed as follows:

The Department for Education, in partnership with the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, brought together over 270 delegates with a stake in services for young people on March 9 2011. From voluntary organisations to the private sector, civil servants to government ministers, participants shared their views on what is needed to make Government policy really work for young people.

First impressions from Andy Hillier and Ravi Chandiramani from CYPN.

Those of us, somewhat irked by the effrontery of calling a Youth Summit and claiming to be constructing youth policy in the midst of the  carnage being inflicted on services for young people, felt that the campaign ought at the very least to be challenging the government. A letter to the Education Select Committee and to the Minister called for  a moratorium on the cuts, pending the report of the Committee itself and the creation of the ‘new’ youth policy in the late summer. However, at the time of writing , such a move has not received the campaign’s full support. It will be debated afresh this Tuesday, March 22.

Yet, despite these inevitable tensions, the campaign through its differing partners is pursuing a range of initiatives, amongst which are:

1. To consider parliamentary petitioning as outlined by Julie Hilling, MP, using the briefing document she provided. Action British Youth Council to report further.
2. To publish stories of success of youth work and changing young lives. Action In Defence of Youth Work publication.
3. To produce a manifesto for ChooseYouth based on previous statements, focusing on young people’s entitlements to a youth service, the infrastructure, resources needed and the specific benefits of the open youth work approach. Action UNITE to draft asap.
4. To consider the strategy document produced by CYPN with a view to signing up. Action all to consider when ready and drafted by CYPN. Note that CYPN has now opened a forum to encourage contributions to the writing of this strategy – see YOUTH STRATEGY
5. To produce a statement for all councillors prior to the local elections. Action UNISON to draft for consideration by the campaign.
6. To consider further on March 22^nd the possibility of a Youth Service lobby of Parliament. Action All.
7. To support regional meetings of ChooseYouth where viable. North East, London, and Wigan are considering these. Action All.
8. To formulate Parliamentary questions around key elements (staffing and resourcing) of previous national audit. Action NYA.
9. To encourage the Labour Opposition to raise the priority of this campaign. Action all but specifically UNISON and UNITE to contact their sponsored MPs and the front bench opposition team. Action UNISON & UNITE.
10. To consider legal challenges to local authority youth service cuts. Action UNITE.
11. To produce further briefings of the particular effects of HE funding on youth and community students. Action TAG.
12. To consider a free-standing Ten Minute Bill, considering the previous Tony Lloyd Bill and Irish Youth Work Act. Action UNITE.
13. To begin to consider House of Lords Campaign. Action British Youth Council.

In terms of holding together and strengthening the campaign it is vital to recognise the plurality of initiatives being pursued. Not all of us are enthused by some of the parliamentary activity, but we are happy that some partners are  exploring these avenues. Our hope is that all the partners, who supported the Rally, will continue to work together in a critical, but supportive way. A priority, noted above, is to fetch on board in concert with the British Youth Council and UK Parliament the autonomous young people’s groups still fighting the cuts.

On this note I’ll close the mailing, but mention that in the next week we will be posting  some reflections on the Inquiry into Services for Young People, which last week interviewed academics and chief officers and once again on the wider front be encouraging supporters to attend the Social Work Action Network conference in Birmingham, April 15/16, where we are running a plenary and workshops. An excellent SWAN video is already on the site.

Meanwhile an unexpected source of support for all our struggles emerges!