The Youth Charter: Local dreams to Global reality…

In 1993, Benji Stanley, a 14 year-old schoolboy, was gunned down on the streets of Moss Side in Manchester. That same year, five-time world karate champion Geoff Thompson moved to stop the senseless violence. Drawing on his upbringing in London’s East End, and having been part of Manchester's bid team to host the 2000 Olympic Games, he created the Youth Charter, with a "mission to provide young people with opportunities in life through sport and cultural activity.

Thompson lived near Moss Side, long an area of deprivation, where the social and cultural hopes of young people were low. Despite millions being spent on regeneration initiatives after the riots of the 1980s, youth employment prospects were low, the future looked bleak.

He describes the founding of the Youth Charter as a struggle for truth. "It was – and is – the greatest fight of my life, and a vocation that I could not turn away from, or ignore”, he says.

It's a fight that has gone rather well. The Youth Charter marked its 21st birthday on 23 March 2014, by publishing its full legacy report. Among the key recommendations for future programmes, the agency proposes the development of ten Social Centres of Excellence.

“The idea is to train ten thousand social coaches in the UK,” says Geoff.

Through cultural activities, the Youth Charter will also deliver an international girls’ empowerment programme in collaboration with the Muhammad Ali Center for Peace. With the Youth Charter’s “coming of age”, Thompson hopes that the 200 page report will offer today’s youngsters, as well as future generations, tangible and achievable goals.

In the beginning
The charter's launch in 1993 saw Britain’s most successful martial arts competitor swap the dojo for a desk and a PC. “We’ve had huge help from volunteers and support from businesses," Thompson says. "One of them, Muse Developments, has provided our office in Manchester for the past 16 years.”

Although Manchester missed out on the Olympic Games, the city hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Thompson was determined that British youngsters joined in by launching Connecting Communities. Obtaining 1,000 tickets, his organization distributed 100 to young people in ten communities. Other steps include the Charter’s 12-year legacy initiative Citizenship in Action, which links 10 communities in the UK with 10 in the Commonwealth with a series of projects to help disaffected youth.

Throwing down the gauntlet
When London was awarded the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games back in 2005, the Youth Charter threw down the gauntlet with a call to action at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. “We insisted that the Games should also inspire kids living on the streets of Britain, as well as TV viewers,” Thompson says. Totally apolitical, Thompson says he has enjoyed being a thorn in the side of all political parties, reminding them that the often-mentioned Olympic legacy is still a major priority: “We have to fulfill the Games pledge of delivering a legacy of ‘inspiring a generation’,” he says. “By working with young people and communities, we can realize this legacy, by using a properly coordinated and collaborative approach.”

The Youth Charter may have been born on a Manchester street, but its aims apply equally to youth around the world. In 2007, Namibia hosted the Southern Africa Social Coach Leadership programme, with surrounding countries participating in a unique workshop to establish coaches, who could develop the social, cultural and human potential of young people and communities. No wonder the Youth Charter is now recognised as a United Nations Non-Governmental Organisation!

Home and away
Back home, the Youth Charter youth culture programme was integrated into Liverpool’s reign as European Capital of Culture in 2008. Two years later, the Muhammad Ali Scholars Tour of the UK brought together British Council scholars from the USA, who toured Britain comparing and contrasting the shared issues that affect their everyday lives. At the Roehampton Legacy Summit, the scholars were joined by 200 delegates who debated the Olympic legacy, then presented their thoughts to Lord Sebastian Coe’s bid team.

That summit kicked off a five-year consultation at all levels of British society, including an e-petition in 2011 on the Access for All campaign. This asked the House of Commons to vote in favour of all young people up to the age of 18 having free access to all community sports and leisure facilities. Another milestone was the Youth Charter’s Legacy Debate at Salford’s Media City in 2012. Chaired by John Bercow, the speaker of the House of Commons, the forum followed up on the 2010 legacy summit, with delegates from schools and colleges highlighting the Olympic Games legacy.

Walking the walk
The Youth Charter has a track record of achieving success. Take Adesuwa McCalla. Back in 1994, she was on the Youth Charter’s exchange from Moss Side to Los Angeles, exploring the legacy of the LA Olympics. Fired with enthusiasm, she studied at university in the US, went in the film business in Hollywood and is now a highly-rated literary agent. How did she get funding? “We got money by running a car park for away fans visiting Man United,” says Geoff.

Then, there are the Southwark Tigers. The Youth Charter worked to get Rugby Union into inner cities. “That’s all about social inclusion, “Geoff points out. “In south-east London, Southwark is the first inner city rugby club, run by volunteers and the local community. Now an increasing nunmber of kids want to play rugby as they see it as a genuine alternative to football.”

Bound to a legacy
In a busy 20th year, the Charter’s remarkable journey saw the launch of its 2012 Games Legacy Report at the Palace of Westminster. After five years of nationwide consultation – which involved all levels of British society and was supported by the public, private and third sector – the report calls for a truly integrated legacy opportunity for all.

The report also provides the delivery of the current government’s big society and localism agendas. More importantly, it gives the locally developed multi-stakeholder networks real and sustainable potential with the local authority commissioning to communities through youth and sport facilities.

The short, mid and long-term viability of legacy access for all will be the “legacy bond”. Developed over the past ten years, the bond has been designed to attract public, private, donor, institution and individual contributions to provide a central fund that ensures that money is used, flexibly yet efficiently. It will form the next episode in the charter's story.