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A multi-million pound fund to boost the well-being and personal development of young people across Northern Ireland was launched today by the Big Lottery Fund.
Change UR Future is the first strand of the Big Lottery Fund’s ground-breaking Young People’s Fund and will distribute £10.8 million to improve the lives of young people at greatest risk of exclusion or offending.
The innovative programme, which will give young people in Northern Ireland the chance to direct National Lottery funding for the first time, was launched in Derry this morning at a special event organised by young people.
Change UR Future will put young people at the centre of creating and delivering innovative schemes that boost the health and well being of young people and help them improve achievement and learning.
Big Lottery Fund NI Board Member Paul Cavanagh welcomed the launch of the programme. He said: “I am delighted that the Big Lottery Fund is working closely with local young people to deliver this programme. We consulted widely with a wide range of people but more importantly we asked young people themselves what they wanted in this programme.
Lottery grants of between £40,000 and £500,000 will be made available under the programme to fund a range of activities and programmes tackling a wide range of issues such as suicide, bullying and addiction through activities such as outdoor pursuits and training for young people up to the age of 25.
An example of a project that could be funded under Change UR Future is the Loughshore Challenge in Belfast which received lottery cash from the Big Lottery Fund to deliver an outdoor pursuits programme for pupils based at Loughshore Education Resource Centre who were at risk of being excluded from school.
So far more than 200 young people have taken part in outdoor activities such as archery, high ropes climbing and canoeing either at the school or at residential centres. But the trips don’t come easy – pupils must earn them through good behaviour and taking part in academic classes.
Craig McCullough, Outdoor Pursuits Co-ordinator at Loughshore said:
“The Loughshore Challenge is not about rewarding bad behaviour. The young people have to earn their place on the trips. Many of those who take part in the Challenge suffer emotional and behavioural problems such as low self-esteem, anger and lack of confidence for a variety of reasons.
Sixteen-year-old Glen Beattie from north Belfast took part in the Loughshore Challenge this year. He has been a pupil at the centre since being excluded from mainstream education two years ago.
He said: “The Loughshore Challenge is great. I got to do things like canoeing and rock climbing which I’d never done before. I hated school and couldn’t pay attention but when I came to Loughshore I felt that the teachers listened to me which helped me learn a lot more.
“I’m a more confident person now because of the Loughshore Challenge and know what I want to do when I leave here. I’m also pleased that the Change UR Future programme will help other young people like me.”
Change UR Future is the first strand of the Big Lottery Fund’s Young People Fund programme to be launched. The second strand will distribute £4 million through an Award Partner to deliver a small grants programme and strategic programmes. More details will be available later this year.
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