Youth matters in a digital age
The 21st Century has brought it’s own opportunities and challenges for young people growing up in the UK, and the pace of change can be hard to keep up with. We believe that it’s important to take time out to understand some of the issues, and to create opportunities to learn and talk together as families and communities about things that matter.
For this reason Cores End Church in Bourne End is excited to offer a short series of workshops on a range of topics relevant to this ‘digital age’ aimed at supporting young people of secondary school age (approx. 11 – 18 years) and encouraging conversation with parents/carers and youth workers. These will run on Monday evenings from 7.30pm – 9pm with refreshments from 7pm.
The sessions kick off on Monday on 22nd February with a fantastic speaker and author Dr Bex Lewis, who will lead workshops on the positive use of technology and social media. Bex is the author of the book ‘Raising children in a digital age‘ and is an academic who has conducted much research in this area.
In addition to our evening workshop for young people and parents/carers, Bex will also run a one-off afternoon workshop on 22nd February from 1.30pm – 3.30pm aimed at youth workers, to provide a productive space to consider how best to support our young people with technology and social media issues.
The second workshop on Monday 29th February will focus on developing emotional resilience and good coping skills, and will be led by Dr Alison Wheeler, who is a Clinical Psychologist working with young people in Berkshire. Young people are faced with numerous pressures and often struggle to know how to cope in ways that are positive and adaptive. This workshop will aim to explore techniques and strategies to build emotional strength and well-being and avoid the pitfalls of self-destructive behaviours.
The third workshop on Monday 7th March will be led by Neighbourhood Policing PCSOs Penny Ling and Mark Rackstraw and will cover topics around keeping safe in our community, developing awareness of potential dangers such as exploitation and substance misuse, and finding opportunities to make positive contributions in the community.
It is hoped that all the workshops will be interactive, promoting conversations and sharing ideas together to make a practical difference for young people.
Places will be restricted to seating capacity so it is advisable to book your place on the workshops you wish to attend. You are welcome to turn up on the night, but if you have not booked seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. There will be a charge of £5 for attendance to cover costs and this charge covers any or all three of the of the evening workshops (i.e. once you have paid to attend one workshop you may attend the other workshops for free). For youth workers attending the targeted afternoon session, there will be a charge of £10 per person.
The workshops will be held at Cores End United Reformed Church, Hawks Hill, Bourne End, Buckinghamshire SL8 5HZ. Some parking is available at the rear of the church (the church car park is located off Princes Road) or in nearby streets.