EYST-AnnualRep10-11

Unity Project
Reaching the hardest to reach and preventing crime
The Think Project
Helping young people think for themselves
The EYST Unity Project is a newly funded project
from Home Office’s Communities against Guns,
Gangs and Knives Fund. It will engage with hard
to reach young males from diverse backgrounds to
divert them away from negative activities towards
positive ones.
The Unity Project builds on EYST’s successful
Home Office Community Fund funded Outreach
Project, which undertook street-based outreach
work to engage with hard to reach young
males, and engage them in peer mentoring
training, sports and residential weekends.
For more information please contact Nicky
on nicky@eyst.org.uk.
The Think Project is an innovative pilot project
aiming to tackle the threat of racism and farright
extremism in mainstream young people.
It has been funded for an initial 3 months by
the Community Cohesion Fund in Swansea. The
project is based around a programme of group
workshops which challenge, and refute the myths
and stereotypes surrounding race, religion and
migration delivered by experienced trainers in a
youth-friendly and accessible style.
An independent evaluation of the pilot project
conducted by i-works research showed it to be
successful in challenging and modifying the views
and myths of young participants in the project,
and to have increased their resilience to far-right
extremism.
Before the project, 71% agreed with the statement
“Asylum seekers come to the UK to get benefits”
and 86% agreed with the statement that “Asylum
seekers should be sent back to where they came
from” and none disagreed.
After the project, all of the young people felt they
had learnt something from the course about racism,
asylum seekers and extremism, and for most, this
had been their first experience of learning about
different cultures and religions.
“You’re alright but
you’re not like them”
– was a frequent comment made by
participants to the non-white project youth
worker. This shows that young people need
more direct and positive experience of
diversity in order to challenge some of their
negative views.
Extremism breeds extremism, and we feel this is a
growing area of need, and aim to expand this area
of work. The Think Project has been recognised
to be unique, and has been invited to present at
Northampton University’s conference on Far Right
Extremism in September 2011. We would also like
to invite potential partners to get in touch with
Rocio Cifuentes on director@eyst.org.uk
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