Top Model of Colour Sponsor: CityZEN

Philip Lawrence Award Winners 2002
CityZEN is a peer-led youth empowerment group set up by young people form Hackney and Tower Hamlets in 2000.

CityZEN specialises in range of peer-led initiatives that encourage and motivate young people to a more active role in their communities

CityZEN undertakes:
1. Peer education work; running fun, lively and interactive workshops for other young people. CityZEN also run train the trainers courses where they train other young people to be peer educators.

2. peer Mentoring; members of CityZEN undertake a range of mentoring and advice work for other young people on topics as diverse as stop and search, sexual health or careers.

3. Peer research and consultation; CityZEN undertakes different work with young people to ensure that their issues and concerns are understood. this may involve street based interviews for a research project or organising and running youth conferences and residentials.

4. Capacity Building; CityZEN helps young people set up their own projects to address their local concerns or ideas
Originally established in 2000, CityZEN has undertaken direct work with over 2000 young people in 11 London Boroughs, Dover, Wolverhampton, Blackburn and Edinburgh.

CityZEN was set up by a group of local young people (Tower Hamlets and Hackney) who were concerned that many of their peer group felt isolated from their communities and sought to gain a sense of belonging through 'gang-membership'
After an initial conference and residential attended by over 50 young people CityZEN was formed as a peer-led group seeking to take the active citizenship agenda out to young people on their terms.

CityZEN were awarded the Philip Award in recognition of its achievements in 2002 and were praised at the time by Hackney council as being part of the 'can do culture'

Young people in CityZEN have developed structures to maintain and support the development of CityZEN as an organisation operating as a social enterprise

CityZEN Unit 202
Mare Street Studios
203-213 Mare Street
Hackney
London
E8 3QE
Telephone: 020 8986 3882