Thumbs up for Leeds city centre with new child friendly competition

Thumbs up for Leeds city centre with new child friendly competition

Young people in Leeds are being given the opportunity to have their say about what they think would make Leeds city centre more child and family friendly, with the launch of an exciting new competition.

Launched this week, the competition invites children and young people to share their low cost and no cost ideas for making Leeds city centre more inclusive for children, young people and families.

The competition entry form will be sent out to schools and organisations across the city and will also be available to download on the Child friendly Leeds website http://www.leeds.gov.uk/childfriendlyleeds/Pages/Competition.aspx.

It is open to children and young people aged 4-18 years (25 with additional needs) and the closing date for entries is 26 May. The judging panel will be looking for ideas that don’t already exist in the city centre, are accessible and inclusive to all children and young people and fall into one of the following categories:

TRAVEL - How can we make getting into and around the city centre easier for children and young people?

SAFETY - What can we do to make sure children and young people are free from harm in the city centre?

EVENTS and ACTIVITIES - What events and activities would you like to see happening in the city centre to make sure children and young people have fun growing up in Leeds?

PEOPLE - How can we make sure children and young people are treated fairly and with respect by others in the city centre?

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT - What could we build or create to make Leeds city centre welcoming and safe, with friendly places for all young people to go to, play and have fun?

Shortlisted entrants will each win a prize and be invited to share their ideas with businesses and organisations from across the city at a prestigious event at the Queen’s Hotel on 3 July. Feedback from this event will then be used as the basis to develop high impact child friendly projects for the city centre.

Child friendly Leeds, Leeds City Council’s ambition to make the city the best place for children and young people to grow up in, was launched five years ago by HRH The Queen as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour. The Leeds city centre competition is part of a package of exciting events and activities that will be happening across the city this year to mark the 5^th anniversary of Child friendly Leeds.

Councillor Lisa Mulherin, executive member for children and families said:

“The fifth anniversary of Child friendly Leeds gives us a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what has gone well and also to look ahead at what more there is to do if we are to be recognised as a child friendly city.

“One of the most important parts of this ambition is giving children and young people a voice and to make sure that that voice is heard, and this competition is a great example of that.

“It’s really important that children and families feel that the city centre is accessible, safe and welcoming for them. I know that our young people have wonderful imaginations and I look forward to seeing some fantastic ideas that we can take further and make happen.”

Cllr Richard Lewis, executive member for Regeneration, Transport and Planning said:

“Whilst the city centre has plenty to offer adults, we think that it could be improved to be more inclusive for children, young people and families. Clearly the best place for us to start getting ideas from is the young people themselves, and we want as many as possible from right across the city to share their ideas with us by entering this competition.”