Reasons behind this project: 1) The recent Home Affairs Select Committee Report on the involvement of young Black people in the Criminal Justice System recommended that to address practices that involve young people, thepolicies that are designed to address them need to involve young people directly (Rec 211). YEP will show the way in how to involve young people in the formation of policy, and produce a model that can be used by other organisations including government. IARS has an expertise in this field, and YEP will provide the channel through which this expertise can be furthered and shared. 2) Through the outcomes of each project phase, specific social injustices such as inequality and bullying will be targeted. For instance, through the research and policy opportunities, evidence based youth-led policy recommendations will be produced. Through campaigning and events awareness will be increased and through art and media a range of audiences will be targeted. 3) The young people will illustrate to others the benefits of involvement in civic life and volunteering. This in turn will help encourage more young people to volunteer. 4) In Britain, there has been a long discussion about the lack of a human rights culture and what needs to be employed to build it. Human rights experts have argued that to build such a culture there needs to be a two way process (Klug 2007). Public services and government has to respect individuals’ human rights but also individuals have to respect other people's rights and also know how to claim their own human rights. YEP volunteers will take a step towards this culture. Through their training, experience of working with others and their contribution to the various projects deliverable that aim to address inequality they will inspire and encourage other young people to do similar activities. 5) YEP is unique as it will be led by a small youth-led organisation and delivered in partnership with big charities. It is a unique opportunity to show how small youth-led charities can lead large organisations in delivering successful projects. Through YEP’s success, confidence of funders and government will be boosted in the ability and capacity of other youth-led organisations and groups no matter their size. This is a also unique opportunity for V to help make this happen. Project end goals: IARS and the consortium partners are non-profit organisations set up to empower disadvantaged communities and help deliver a fairer and more equal society. Partner rganisation either work with specific equality groups (BAME, LGBT, children etc), or are committed to addressing inequality. Therefore, by definition all our activities have a community interest and benefit. The list below should give a more detailed account of YEP’s expected impact on the young people who will be involved, their local and wider community. (a) Positive Impact Outcomes for the Young Volunteers 1) YEP volunteers will gain experience of contributing to social justice, equality and fairness. They will experience the value of this social contribution and the significance of voluntary action. 2) They will also gain direct experience of the voluntary and community sector and how equality and justice is delivered through its activities. Through placements at the various partner-charities working on different equality strands (sexual orientation, race, gender etc), and by attending events and carrying out the YEP opportunities they will be inspired and encouraged to see the value of the third sector in addressing inequality. 3) Networking and learning from each other will be another key outcome that will impact positively on the young people involved. Because of the wide range of social, cultural and economic backgrounds of the young people involved in YEP, a unique opportunity will be offered to see what unites rather that divides them. BAME young people will work side-by-side with their White counterparts, LGBT and straight young people, BAME with LGBT young people etc. 4) Networking and practical experience will be complemented with cognitive learning, since volunteers will be offered a range of training opportunities, which will have an impact on their vision of society and the way they treat each other. For instance, IARS’ human rights training (specifically tailored to young people) aims to empower them by showing how the underlying values of the Human Rights Act (e.g. dignity and respect) relate to young people’s everyday life. 5) The recent political debate on "community cohesion" raised questions such as what are the shared values that could unite British society. YEP's underlying values of Freedom, Respect, Equality and Dignity (FRED) will be passed on to all YEP volunteers through cognitive and skill based approaches. Through YEP opportunities, the young volunteers' biases will be challanged and a sense of belonging will be promoted. These are key ingredients of a cohesive society. 6) Young people from the most marginalised communities will be provided with tools to improve their lives. For instance, through legal support from Law Centres Federation and case studies of best practice examples, YEP volunteers from disadvantaged groups will be shown how to go about addressing their own social inequalities and then help others to do the same. Financial breakdown: Contributions are requested for the delivery of events, research projects and other project costs. The overall cost of the project is £250k over a period of 3 years. £151k has been secured through V and matchfunding is currently being pursued. The project is delivered in partnership with several other charities namely: Law Centres Federation, Children Rights Alliance for England, Race on the Agenda, The LGBT Consortium, London Civic Forum, The Women's Resource Centre, Scarman Trust, Institute for Global Ethics .