Director’s Cut
The economy is one of the hot topics at the moment with many negative stories in the national press. In Sheffield despite this gloomy national coverage, we have been forging ahead with our plans. In June we hosted the International Business and Economy Summit at the City Hall and there are lots of positive initiatives going from strength to strength.
‘BiG – Make it Your Business’ has now provided business advice to over 800 people in Sheffield’s communities. The latest project is The BiG Zone at Castle Market, where new start-ups can trade at the well established markets with support from business advisors.
The Q&A in this issue features one of our new board members from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue. The Fire & Rescue Service has a vital role in helping our communities feel safer and is heavily involved with the Partnership. Some of their recent work is reflected in this e-newsletter including information about their latest demonstration in Sheffield City Centre.
Social cohesion and inclusion is really important in creating a vibrant city. As we take the city forward we have to ensure all people are able to take advantage of the city’s progress. You can read about some of the excellent work boosting attainment for children and young people from ethnic minorities, which is bringing real change to those young people’s life chances.
Sheffield First Partnership is also supporting the WALKTALK initiative which will hopefully get people talking and help to bring different communities together.
Finally the ‘Sheffield Is My Planet’ week returned for its second year in June aiming to raise awareness of climate change and explain what local people can do.
For the three days that ‘Sheffield Is My Planet’ was present on Fargate. The average footfall of people passing through was 75,000 per day, providing an excellent opportunity for Sheffield First Environment Partnership to get its message across. Let’s hope we inspired people to pursue small changes and make a difference!
Jane Brown
Sheffield First Partnership