As part of a Dragons' Den-style event, they face a panel of young Grant Givers in a bid to secure funding for their own projects.

Facing the Grant Givers panel at Brinkburn Youth Centre, in Hartlepool, the adults had to pitch their ideas in the hope of receiving funding for new youth services centred around Friday and Saturday nights.

The Grant Givers panel was set up to give young people responsibility for allocating some of the budget.

Youth leaders say that by giving young people the responsibility of handling grant applications, it will ensure that provision is young people focused, while also giving them the opportunity to develop life skills.


Peter Davies, principal youth officer at Hartlepool Borough Council, said: "We believe that giving young people the responsibility for deciding on funding for some of the youth provision is important in the development of the work we are doing.

"It is all too easy for adults to impose ideas on young people and often what happens is that the young people vote with their feet and the work may fail.

"The Young Dragons' Den idea is challenging for the young people and the adults in what was a rewarding and successful event.

"In Hartlepool we are looking to build sustainable youth service provision which will be around for many years to come.

"This involves working with the young people not just in things like Grant Givers, but also in listening to what they are telling us about what is on offer and taking on board suggestions they make".

The £2.5m is available in Hartlepool until 2011 under the Government's Aiming High Strategy, with a specific purpose of focusing on weekend facilities when young people and communities feel they are most needed.

Ensuring youth centres stay open late at weekends and evenings, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, is a key part of Government's approach to tackling and preventing youth crime through the Youth Crime Action Plan and the Tackling Knives Action Programme.

An open weekend event is being held tonight and tomorrow. The event gives the Youth Service an opportunity to showcase what it has on offer to help young people participate in activities on a regular basis.

A range of physical, cultural and health-related activities will be available across the town over the two days of the Open Weekend.

The activities will centre around the sea front at Seaton Carew, Rossmere Centre and Brinkburn Centre.