Futuresearch Event

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to be here today to launch this three day FutureSearch workshop. As you know, responsibility for this area of work only recently joined my portfolio, but the rights and needs of children and young people have long been a particular interest of mine and I am especially pleased to take on this important area of work.

I would like to begin by thanking all of you who have given up so much of your valuable time to be here in Armagh for the next three days. I know how difficult that can be; not only with work commitments but also for home commitments. We are very grateful indeed that you have been able to join us here. You may, or may not be aware, that your presence at FutureSearch was not a random choice. A planning group was convened to organise this event, and it was on their recommendation that your names were put forward. Each of here today represents a particular sector relevant to children and young people. And each of you here today holds an important job within that sector. That importance may not be in grade terms - you may not be the Chief Executive or Director (although some of you are) - but you are someone who has the knowledge, drive and determination which means that you are an important person to be here to represent your sector.

Looking around the room, I see some faces as yet unmarked by the passage of time and I would like to give a special welcome to the eight members of the Children and Young People's Unit's Young People's Advisory Forum who have been nominated by their fellow Forum members to join us at FutureSearch to give us a much-needed young person's perspective. I hope you will especially enjoy your three days with us - and not just because you are getting three days away from school or college. Believe me, from what I know about FutureSearch - you will certainly not be avoiding work!

I'm sure that many of you will still be wondering just what exactly you have committed yourselves to. One of the principles of FutureSearch is that delegates attend with an open and unclouded mind and that is the reason why there are no papers sent out in advance. All that is needed is the knowledge and opinions in your head at any one time - not prepared answers or position statements. The skill of the facilitators will take your information and opinions and channel them to the discussion and shape them to an outcome that all of you are in agreement with.

The purpose of this particular FutureSearch is to produce a Vision for children and young people living in Northern Ireland. And hopefully, also some objectives which underpin that vision. The information gathered here in the next three days will be used along with the outcomes of various other consultation exercises some of which are already underway and others which are planned between now and January. To give you a flavour of what's going on - at the end of November we are bringing approximately 500 children aged between 3 and 11 years to the W5 centre at the Belfast Odyssey. They will get a chance to play but they will also be asked to give their views using a variety of media - artwork, video clips and discussion. Towards the end of January we are organising an event for young people - aged from about 12 upwards and we are planning a family fun day event in the North West of the Province.

Our colleagues on the Non Governmental Organisations' Forum are also organising consultation events with their members and so, by the end of January, we will be in a position to draft the consultation paper of the strategy, backed up by a huge mass of information and opinions.

I've said that the results of FutureSearch will form part of this information. It is probably not an understatement to say that this FutureSearch event is the flagship event in our calendar of consultation events - and that is not to undermine any of the other projects, but in terms of the resources committed by ourselves and by you and your respective organisations, to this type of event, it inevitably leads the way.

We are very optimistic that the outcome of your work over the next three days will form the basis for the structure of the draft strategy and I look forward hugely to seeing that outcome.

Once again, thank you for devoting so much of your time in helping us to work towards a better future for all of our children and young people. I hope that you enjoy your time with us and that all of us gain from taking part in FutureSearch.

Thank you.