Youth panel helps shape Olympic legacy

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Young people from across the five host boroughs of London have been chosen to help decide the future legacy of the Olympic games.

The Legacy Youth Panel is made up of 22 young people between the ages of 13 and 21.

Over the coming months they will visit the Olympic site, work with planners and help shape future plans for the Olympic Park.

Chief executive of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, Andrew Altman, said: ‘We want young people to feel a sense of ownership towards the Olympic Park because they will be the generation that will most experience the change the east London over the next 24 years.’

The youth panel is run by Fundamental Architectural Inclusion, an architecture centre based in Stratford which helps communities participate in the design of their neighbourhoods.

In the next five months the panel will work with masterplanners, visit schools and take part in a photography project. Their work will culminate in a summer event at which they will present their experience to other teenagers from the host Olympic boroughs.

Yuan Chen, one of the youth panel members, said: ‘I think it will be an amazing opportunity to be part of the Olympics coming to London and help create a lasting legacy that will benefit all the different communities that live on the doorstep of the Olympic Park.’

A recent report advised the Olympic Park Legacy Company to focus on the goal of improving the lives of people in east London