In recent years young people, education and participation have moved up the agenda of arts funding bodies and arts organisations.
The upsurge of interest has gained further impetus from increasing recognition of the direct relevance of youth arts practice to Government priorities of social inclusion, capacity building and lifelong learning. Yet arts provision beyond the school curriculum for young people in the 13-25 age range is still patchy, weakly networked and under-resourced; and there remains a gap in the support structures, providing information, training and awareness of best practice for those developing or delivering activity.
A series of consultations took place in the ten Regional Arts Boards to identify the key issues for those working in the youth arts sector. The results were unsurprising ? the important issues for those working in the youth arts sector today are training, partnerships and networking. The conference, 2001: A Youth Arts Odyssey, aims to address these issues. Based in Newcastle and Portsmouth, the conferences will discuss these issues on a national platform with a programme of workshops and discussion groups, case studies and Keynote speeches
2001 A Youth Arts Odyssey takes place in Newcastle from June 17-19 and Portsmouth from June 24-26. For further information t: 023 8023 6806 e: odyssey@resource-base.co.uk