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In an attempt to kick-start active discussions on some of the serious challenges facing the inner-city, a series of workshops are being planned where members of those communities can publicly articulate their views.听听听 Kurt Barling attended the first one held in the shadow of Canary Wharf.听

A Saturday evening in the middle of August doesn鈥檛 seem like the best time to hold a rigorous debate about the key challenges facing inner city communities.听听 But that was the time Equanomics chose to launch its Black Economic and Political Leadership Summit.

It sought to bring together a group of individuals from the voluntary and public sectors along with young graduates and sixth formers to voice their concerns.听听

The objective is to roll this out into a series of these workshops across the country and then provide a template of what could be done to provide local solutions to seemingly intractable problems.听听 If these solutions work locally the argument goes, then there should be no reason not to share the knowledge with other communities.

Armed with this type of evidence, those leading Equanomics want to challenge political leaders at the local and national level or even provide them with a means to adapt policy to more constructive ends.

It is a way to make the voices from within some of our most disadvantaged communities matter without looking to traditional party politics.

It was clear talking to many of the people who attended that the reason they came was because they feel their political voice is not being heard by mainstream organisations.听 Of the 200 or so attendees many were professionals, some were young graduates looking for networks to plug into, whilst others were younger still wanting to challenge the perception that young black people do not want to achieve.

There are many perceived barriers to success.听听 Some of the young people articulated a view that poor representation of young people in the media creates a culture of low aspirations.

In particular, a lack of positive male role models fuels the desire to emulate the stereotypes in popular culture as a way of achieving respect amongst their peers.听听 Street violence is one manifestation of this.

Schools are perceived to be not succeeding as well as they might to provide a counter-balance to the low aspiration culture.听 Many parents felt that this accounted in particular for the poor performance of boys in the school system.

Lack of support for black employees

Many of the professionals present observed that in professional life it can often be difficult to plug into networks which will support black individuals.听 They identified this as a problem for getting the first job and then as a barrier to career advancement.听 Minorities, they argued, often feel isolated in the workplace and there is a need for greater networking opportunities to share experiences.

Perhaps most importantly the overwhelming sense was that political leaders have not emerged from within the black communities and that therefore it was very difficult to find people to articulate many of their concerns.
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That鈥檚 not to say that the people at the Canary Wharf gathering were preoccupied with defining political life along race lines.听 There is a sense that they articulate a lack of confidence in the current political class to be in tune with their interests and needs.

Of course this is not the exclusive preserve of minority communities. The mood in the Canary Wharf workshop was far from endorsing a culture of 鈥渧ictimhood鈥�.听听 This forum stressed the importance of a collective responsibility to provide solutions to problems like gun and knife crime.听 With a strong emphasis on the importance of supporting the family as a primary means of giving young people a balanced moral compass.

Whilst the threat of terrorism in the capital remains high, there is a perception amongst many people in the black communities of London that there is at least an equal threat of lethal violence to young black men.

There is some evidence that it is recognised that solutions need to come from the bottom up and then garner support from government institutions.听听 Reach is a government supported programme for example to recruit role models nationwide as a means of setting strong examples for young black men.听
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Whilst none of the participants expected such programmes to provide THE answer, they clearly believe that without more initiatives to provide local responses to difficult inner city problems there is unlikely real inroads are going to be made into issues as potent as a growing gang culture.

Black youths 'need good role models'

There is also the question of how to deal with the sleeping giant in black communities.听听 The emergence of the church as a major force in organising social action projects is perhaps one of the most significant developments in the past decade in London.听听 An increasing number of partnerships between government and community find the church at its heart.

It鈥檚 hard to argue that stimulating this kind of debate is of little use.听 Whether it achieves anything is the big challenge.听 The organisers hope they can find a way of making this grassroots articulation of solutions filter through to the policy-makers.听听 They also say there is another way of looking at this.听听 Debate amongst like-minded people may strengthen communities from within.

I鈥檓 sure that is part of the Equanomics agenda.听听 A self-help agenda which basically says: if you can鈥檛 look to your government to do it for you, do it for yourself first.听 Government may then listen.