Youth Voice Journal Special Issue- The Youth Perspective on the London 2012 Paralympic Games (2011)

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As part of the drive to get the youth voice heard on the Paralympics, young journalists at IARS worked in close partnership with young people with disabilities at the Tower Project in Tower Hamlets, one of the Olympic boroughs. Alexandra Molano and Alex Burch’s articles argue that organisers may be unable to deliver on their promise to provide extensive disability access to the Games due to cutbacks in building works and services. Similarly, Meha Patel and Farah Sadiq take a critical view of the Games’ Young Leaders Programme, which without the inclusion of any disabled Young Leaders, is missing an opportunity to engage with and inspire a sizeable number of young Londoners. Halima Khanom and ﬁnally, Davina Merchant and Anaam Raza explore opinions around the social legacy of the Games and also some of the challenges in educating wider society about disability.
The articles, therefore, take a constructively critical tone, which is perhaps unsurprising given that many people have very high expectations of the Games. However, it was clear that the young people who took part in informing and writing this issue of Youth Voice Magazine truly believe that the Olympic and Paralympic Games present a unique opportunity to unite all people from London, the UK and the world in celebration. The young people at the Tower Project and IARS hope that despite the e ort to drive down public spending, that their opinions and views will be taken into consideration and every e ort will be made to make sure that the Paralympic Games is every bit the aspirational and inspirational spectacle that we were promised.