Local businesses, movers and shakers were invited to be very afraid at the newly refurbished South Pavilion at the end of the pier last Thursday. The event was organised by the head of local youth organisation Youth Legacy Tiffany Newell and local MP Tim Loughton. The idea was to showcase a number of projects in Worthing and Adur and demonstrate the mutual benefits of business linking up with youth projects and engaging with their employees as well. The Youth Mayor, Deputy Youth Mayor and the High Sheriff of West Sussex Jonathan Lucas, who was sporting bright yellow trousers, also attended to lend their support to the project.
An example of the beneficial work conducted by young people in Worthing is the project to restore a patch of land which has been given over to the Youth Council on the seafront in Goring to make into a ‘youth zone’.
There were some excellent examples of young local talent with presentations from Shoreham’s Sussex Music Academy as well as an inspirational talk from internationally renowned kite surfer, Lewis Cratherne. Unfortunately, Lewis was unable to showcase his prowess due to a lack of wind.
Tim commented:
‘We have some great young talent across Worthing and Adur, but all too often media coverage around young people is negative. That is why I produced the Positive for Youth strategy when Minister for Children and Families and we have some great examples of how it can work across the constituency. Based on a similar scheme by Sheffield Futures, I am also working with the Chamber of Commerce to see if we can roll out a youth friendly business accreditation scheme for the mutual benefit of young people and businesses. This is a really exciting time to engage with young people in our area and, yet again, I hope Worthing and Adur can produce some pioneering work.’