"Hello and welcome to Truth about Youth Year 3 at the Royal Exchange Theatre: FUTUREWORLDS.

For the past two years, we have challenged the negative perceptions of young people. This summer we organised TaY: The Festival – a 2 week takeover of the Royal Exchange, created by 884 young people and 165 adults. We reached an audience of over 12 thousand people by managing events, creating a variety of performances, broadcasting on our very own radio station, transforming the design of the theatre, speaking to the press… And most importantly, changing some people’s perceptions of what the youth of today are all about.

 

Year 3 of the Truth about Youth, FUTUREWORLDS, is going to be equally as interesting. We are exploring ideas about what society should look like in the future, and how we can facilitate it. As young people, despite the bad press, we want to make the most of our skills and talents and work with the rest of society, rather than against it. This year we will be speaking with politicians and social activists, attending conferences and conversing with the press in order to make sure that our voices are heard.

It often feels like the only young people being given a voice are those committing crimes, we plan to change this by asserting our positive outlooks on the future. Our aim is to change the perceptions society hold of young people for good, as our project will culminate in a week-long event in October 2013.  The Royal Exchange will open the doors to The Studio every day for people to come and enjoy an interactive, animated exhibition, showcasing our tasks and our discoveries.

As was the case during the festival in the summer, we would really like this to be an intergenerational project. In order to fully make a difference, we all need to work together."