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The Isle of Wight Council is seeking the views of all those - particularly the young - who have an opinion on the type of activities and services they would like the Island's youth service to offer.
The council is keen to revamp the service because at present not enough young people are using it. In order to encourage potential and current users to make their views known, a consultation launched this week will include a number of specially targeted events. These include surgeries, Question Time-style meetings, online surveys and video diaries at the annual Big Day Out.
The council aims to provide an improved youth Connexions service for those aged 8-19. This could be achieved by offering more relevant and up to date activities at times and locations to suit a wider range of young people but the views gathered from young people as well as their parents and carers and other organisations are crucial in shaping the future of the service.
During September and October a series of events will take place to gather information on the type of activities and services young people would like to use and need to have access to.
The first event takes place on Tuesday 8 September at Ryde High School with two 'Question Time' style sessions, one for young people and another for the wider community. The one for young people will be chaired by the Island's youth council and the other will be for the wider community, including parents and carers, school staff, governing bodies, local management committees and town and parish council members. The community event starts at 5.30pm and ends at 7pm and can be attended by anyone with an interest. Entry will be on a first come, first served basis as numbers are restricted to the size of the venue. Further similar events across the Island will be publicised and held over the coming weeks.
Surgeries will also be held at libraries across the Island so that members of the public can share their views about how the services should be changed and ask questions.
Between 1 September and 10pm on 11 October, the council will be encouraging people to complete online surveys, one for young people (www.iwight.com/youngpeopleactivitysurvey) and one for adults (www.iwight.com/surveys/youthservice). Hard copies of the adult surveys will be made available at all of the Island's libraries.
Finally, a 'Big Brother' style diary room will be created at this year's Big Day Out which takes place on 11 October 2009. Those attending will be invited to record their views as part of a video diary.
All of the views and information will be gathered and analysed before being presented to the council's cabinet in November 2009.
Notes for editors
Details of the consultation meetings and surgeries will be published in due course via www.iwight.com .
The following surgeries will take place across the Island at the following libraries:
Lord Louis Monday 28th September 12:00 to 15:00
Sandown Tuesday 29th September 16:30 to 18:00
Cowes Saturday 3rd October 12:00 to 15:00
