Background.

The effect of the 2012 Olympics will have a huge impact on Newham in East London. Some 1,350 homes will be demolished and another 7,000 built around the same area, bringing a mass of newcomers and new communities springing up.

The Conflict and Change organisation which has been working with local young people for over 20 years believes that with big changes in the neighbourhood, there is a risk that teenagers will separate according to religious and ethnic backgrounds. This is where the danger of gangs, ghettos and ‘no go areas’ starts. (Plaistow Forum – Newham Crime and Drugs Strategy 2005-2008).

Truce graduates introducing the project to local agencies.

Whilst young people tend to relate to their own ethnic group, our research suggests they want this to change. In a Focus Group in October 2007, a group of young local people aged between 16-21 years from Newham, from a range of ethnic and religious backgrounds, was asked about the areas they would most like to change within their community.

They said there was a need for better understanding of different people’s culture and identification of similarities between cultures. They also expressed the desire for an increase in cooperation between different religions and ethnicities within young communities in Newham.

It is these issues that Truce 20/20 addresses.