Chloe SmithMP for Norwich North
Chloe Smith
Member of Parliament for Norwich North, Chloe Smith, will tomorrow, Wednesday 18th July, welcome the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Young Families, Tim Loughton MP, to Norwich where they will visit the Open Youth Trust Forum to see the successful project in action.
Run by the Open Youth Trust Charity, the Forum is a safe and friendly hub for young people to come together to see live music and performing arts or visit one of their regular drop-in sessions on issues such as health, employment and training.
The venue also gives businesses a unique opportunity to hold their meetings, conferences or event whilst helping to fund positive programmes and activities for young people in Norfolk.
Chloe and the Minister will be greeted by Sarah Mintey, Principal of the OPEN Youth Trust for a tour of the OPEN Trust’s venue to meet with some of the Trust’s partners to discuss youth voice and their future plans for the Myplace centre. They will also discuss the progress made so far in developing national Myplace networking arrangements, something the Minister for Children & Families, Tim Loughton, is keen to see and which the DfE are providing £200,000 in support of this year, via the Big Lottery Fund – who are the managing agents for the Myplace Programme.
Chloe comments:
"I'm delighted to show off Norwich and the excellent facilities we have for young people. People have really stepped up to create youth opportunities in our city and I think it's particularly important that it's often young people themselves doing that. You have to stand up responsibly for what you want, as a young person, rather than let others do it for you. I know that the Open Youth Trust and other groups share that spirit and I'm proud of that."