- To help provide Somali Children and adults with a range of opportunities and challenges which help give them the skills, knowledge and values to thrive in this new environment.

- To support Somali parents on how best they can participate in the teaching and learning of their children.

Top image: Participants attending the conference
Bottom image: Speakers of the conference

The aim of this conference was to consider ways of 'Bringing in the Somali Youth from the Margins into the Mainstream'. In order to do this, people from a wide range of organizations were represented: Social Services, health projects, Youth and Community Services, the Racial Equality Council, community groups, and education groups, to name a few. Thus, a framework was established to identify holistic solutions for the multi-faceted, interrelated issues that threaten the well being of Somali youth.

The first part of the day consisted of reports and presentations from individuals representing groups working with, or concerned about Somali Youth:
- Shamis Dirir for the London Black Women's Health Action Project
- Sacad Ali Shire for Community Enterprise, Islington
- Abdullahi Hassan for the Black and Ethnic Community Mental Health Project
- Sandra Walmsley for Tower Hamlets Social Services
- Amma Anani Agyei for Tower Hamlets Ethnic Minority Child Protection Team
- Yolande Agble for Spitalfields Health Centre

These were followed by questions from the floor.

The second part of the day started with a report from Khalid Abdi, a representative of Somali Youth in Tower Hamlets, and further questions.

There was then a Roundtable Discussion, with short contributions from members of the panels; the panel members being:

- Cllr. Kofi Appiah, Mayor of Tower Hamlets
- Nigel Huxed, Poplar Social Services Strategy Group
- Dr Mohammed Hadi, MD PhD, London Hospital, Medical Researcher
- Pam Campbell, Post 16 Advisor for Youth and Community Services, Tower Hamlets
- Vernon Clement, Director of Tower Hamlets Racial Equality Council
- Ahmed A. Hersi, Somali Liaison Officer, Bridge Project.

The day finished with a workshops on Health/Housing and Educational Needs of Somali children. In the feedback from these workshops the following recommendations were drawn up:

1. Create a post of a Somali-speaking worker at the Social Services Strategy Group to work with mothers and children;

2. Identify resources for employing a youth worker;

3. Initiate the training of Somali Home Care Workers and plan future deployment at neighbourhood level;

4. Prioritize funding for research into Mental Health in partnership with the Health Authority;

5. Organise training and awareness-raising events for Social Workers;

6. Facilitate the creation of Somali Foster Families

7. Establish and develop a more regular channel of consultation with Somalis as users of Social Services.

1. Reinstate the post of Somali Education Liaison Worker;

2. Create and increase the number of Somali-speaking teachers and support teachers at nursery, junior and secondary schools;

3. Promote and sponsor the retraining of Somali teachers to practise as qualified teachers;

4. Support and advocate for the establishment of supplementary schools for Somali school-aged children to improve their achievement;

5. Prioritise the funding of Somali-speaking Education Welfare Social Workers.

1. Direct agencies of the NHS entrusted with the implementation of "The Health of the Nation" to draw a strategy that will address the alarming suicide rate among Somalis.

2. Earmark mainstream funding to recruit Somali-speaking workers to work with psychiatric units and Community Psychology teams and counseling services.

3. Undertake and finance research on mental health problems faced by Somalis.

1. Provide a multi-purpose community center to be used by Somali youth, mothers and children and pensioners;

2. Consider meeting the running cost of a Somali Community Centre.