There are many ways of supporting young people who may be vulnerable to violent extremism. The Government's Prevent Strategy aims to work with communities and institutions such as schools and colleges to raise awareness of the risks and support the victims of extremism activity. As part of this strategy Surrey Police worked with SATRO to develop a Marketing Challenge for 6th form students, sponsored by David Munro, Chairman of Surrey County Council and held at County Hall on Monday 18 November.
Eight teams of 6th form students from Surrey Schools and Colleges took part and having thoroughly researched the topic spent the day fine tuning their presentations. Support was on hand throughout the day from the Crime Prevent Team and Jonathan King, a Marketing expert. The teams were required to prepare a 5 minute PowerPoint presentation showcasing the various methods they would use to communicate their message, thereby raising awareness with their target market, their peers.
The judging panel were hugely impressed with both the quality and content of all the presentations and it was a closely fought contest. Heated debate amongst the judges resulted in Rosebery School taking first place, closely followed by the team from Priorsfield with Fulbrook taking 3rd place. However ideas generated by the other five schools and colleges taking part may well also be turned into reality by the Crime Prevent team.
As the students feedback shows this was a serious topic which struck a chord with all who attended. "Better education about extremism for young people is vital if we are to raise awareness and aid prevention", " Terrorism comes in many more forms than I previously anticipated and there are many solutions that could be implemented to help raise awareness in schools.", "I learnt so much more about terrorism and how to create an effective campaign," "It felt like a real project which will be taken on board." The final words of the day go to Lee Sawkins, the Prevent Coordinator Specialist crime command and Head Judge, " This was a fantastic event which exceeded expectations in terms of support and outcomes. I am really enthused about working with young people and would recommend to colleagues."
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