Young people from the Bulwell Youth Inclusion Project have seen their winning poster designs shown off in billboards across the City.

The young people have produced a series of posters aimed at tackling crime, anti social behaviour and drug misuse, as part of a national Crime Concern project entitled Say Yes Challenge.

The Say Yes Challenge is a project aimed at giving young people opportunities to put workable ideas that tackle the issues of antisocial behaviour into practice. The challenge is not simply about good ideas; all the groups who took part in the challenge were required to demonstrate a high level of commitment and a wide range of skills and attitudes throughout the planning, development and delivery stages.

The winning groups designs are themed around the strapline; "stop.think.achieve", with each of the posters highlighting the implications of anti-social behaviour, drug abuse or crime. The winning designs tackle difficult issues in a realistic and credible way that aim to challenge and positively influence the attitudes of young people and adults alike. The posters also explore the effects of drug dealing and violent crime on victim’s families and the community.

All the groups who took part in the challenge were supported by mentors from the world of commerce and several of the young people went on work placements with local companies. As well as seeing their posters go into production the winning group received a cash prize of 500 pounds.

A selection of the posters will be displayed in prominent locations on billboards in Bulwell for two weeks, and will be displayed extensively in venues across the city.

The Say Yes Challenge is a partnership between Crime Concern, Victoria Centre, Nottingham City Council, and the Nottingham Crime & Drugs Partnership.

Alan Given, Chief Executive of the Nottingham City Crime & Drugs Partnership said…

"The young people of Nottingham have shown that not only do they care about issues that affect the city but that they are willing to do something about it. The high quality of this campaign demonstrates the depth of their understanding, ability and commitment. We are very pleased to be able to support this campaign and I look forward to seeing the posters being displayed in venues across the city."

Paul Francis, from the Victoria Centre said.

"The Victoria Centre was delighted to be involved with the ‘Say Yes Challenge’. We were very impressed with all the young people who took part in the challenge and I found the attitude and desire of the young people to make a difference inspirational. I am also very pleased that the challenge not only created lots of good ideas but that it is proving to be a springboard for bigger and better things for some of those involved."