The Olympic site in Stratford is still being built. Photo:London 2012
Twenty-five young people of the five London 2012 host boroughs have joined together to help decide the future of the Olympic Parks.
The East London youths, aged 13-22, have joined the Youth Legacy Panel which will help the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) and construction companies decide the fate of the facilities that will be used.
With five representatives from each borough, the Panel will meet with architects, visit local schools and have their say about decisions that will be made after the tournament. They will also have the opportunity to visit the Olympic sites and see the progress in construction.
Emma Wheelhouse, the Senior Stakeholder’s Relations Manager at OPLC described the programme as “phenomenal”.
This is the third set of youngsters to have been selected for these roles. Ms Wheelhouse said: “They have been with us since January, so we now have 35 in total, and the older ones are helping the newer ones.”
The group will take part in mentoring and peer learning throughout their time working with the OPLC and contractors such as Fundamental Architecture Inclusion, from Newham.
They will act as a lobby group and will inform the Olympic Legacy Masterplan of progress and decisions being made throughout the development.
The young people will provide a fresh perspectives to debate about the future of the Parks.
Miss Wheelhouse added: “They are working on features to make people feel better about their borough such as CCTV”
“They are looking at things such streets, bridges and other land use.”
I’m actually a first year media and comms student here and I’m part of the panel, We were the first batch chosen and actually put on a huge event last year where showcased our manifesto of what we think is important and should be considered in the long term plans of what will be a new part of the city. It’s a great program as its important to take on youth opinion as they will be the ones working and living in and around the Olympic park.