Mayor’s investment helps hundreds of activities for young people

• Hundreds of programmes, groups and activities lined up for young Londoners to get involved in over the half-term period, many of them funded by City Hall
• Part of the Mayor’s pledge to provide positive opportunities for young people, especially in the areas most affected by violent crime
• London has lost 81 youth centres and 800 full time youth workers as a result of £39m of cuts to youth services since 2011*

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today published online updated details of hundreds of activities available for young Londoners across the capital during the half-term holidays and beyond - from theatre workshops and music sessions to coding clubs and cooking classes.

Last year, Sadiq invested £20.5m in 179 projects benefitting more than 63,000 young people in London. In May, the next wave of funding will be available with applications open for youth organisations, charities and schools to bid for a share of £15m of his £45m Young Londoners Fund.

Details of projects across every borough can be found on an interactive online map at /our-london. Many of the activities are funded by the Mayor and stretch the length and breadth of the capital, but especially in the 10 boroughs most affected by knife and violent crime.

The map explains how young Londoners can spend time during half-term and beyond gaining invaluable skills that are designed to help them reach their full potential. Sadiq is particularly keen to promote projects in the London boroughs worst affected by knife crime, some of those include:

Islington – Highbury Roundhouse is a youth centre giving young people access to employment opportunities and helping them to gain qualifications in I.T. and food safety

Hackney – SkyWay is giving young people access to a range of sports and training them to be coaches.

Croydon – Reaching Higher is supporting young people in developing key life skills such as financial management and career support.

Tower Hamlets – Tunes Against Knives run by SocietyLinks is supporting young people to make music to express their views on tackling knife crime.

Newham – Ambition, Aspire, Achieve is running the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and using digital tech to upskill young people.

Southwark – Cambridge House is giving young people the opportunity to take part in youth empowerment projects exploring identity and behaviour.

Lambeth – Knights Youth Centre works with girls to empower them against becoming involved in crime and exploring what they can do with their lives.

Lewisham – Lewisham Youth Theatre is supporting young people to learn theatre skills, both performance and back-stage.

Haringey – Haringey Pirate Ship is teaching literacy skills in a purpose-built creative space.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Giving young Londoners positive things to do, whether equipping them with new skills or introducing them to new friends through arts and sports, is essential in steering them along the right path and helping them make the right choices in life.

“This half-term there’s something for everyone to get involved in no matter where you are in London, so I’m encouraging young people, parents and teachers to log onto our interactive map and find out what’s happening around them.

“Massive reductions in Government funding have caused crippling cuts to youth services and policing and there’s no denying that this has contributed to a rise in violent crime. That’s why I’m making sure that City Hall funding is available for activities for young Londoners over half term – something the Government has failed to do.”

The £45 million Young Londoners Fund is already helping thousands of children and teenagers in the capital. It provides much-needed events and activities that had been lost because of Government cuts. £39million has been removed from youth services since 2011, which translates into a 44 per cent cut for local authorities’ youth service budgets and 81 youth centres closing.