PCC Youth Forum members turn their hand to filmmaking
A DYNAMIC group of young people will turn their hand to filmmaking as part of their work with Essex Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston.
The team of youngsters volunteered to work alongside the PCC, forming the first Essex PCC Youth Forum, after attending the first youth conference hosted by Mr Alston in the Summer.
The forum, which includes young people from Southend, Harlow, Basildon and Chelmsford, joined the PCC at his Chelmsford office for the first meeting on Monday.
The group came up with a host of imaginative ideas to help the PCC and his staff better understand the needs of young people in Essex, including a suggestion to make a film with the youth forum.
The film will aim to capture the opinions and experiences of young people across the county on various issues including where they can go for help in a crisis, the services available to them and the relationship between young people and police.
Nick Alston, Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said of the forum: “I feel privileged that so many young people have volunteered to continue working with me following the fantastic PCC youth conference we held in July.
“I’m delighted we were able to meet again so soon and start putting some of their brilliant ideas into practice. I think this film is going to be a really exciting project which will put young people in the driving seat in terms of decision making and influence, and I very much look forward to seeing how it develops.”
PCC Nick Alston with members of the Essex PCC Youth Forum
The forum, led by Gwanwyn Mason, the PCC’s Assistant Director for Public Engagement, participated in a workshop to design interview questions and a script to shape the film.
The group will now begin shooting the film in early September and aim to visit youth clubs and centres, schools and general areas across the county to put their questions to the county’s young people.
Once the film is completed, it will be used to inform ongoing partnership work between various organisations across Essex, and will provide important research and feedback to support the development of the commissioning strategy for victim’s services in the county.
