Rationale: The urban arts and cultural sector now amounts to around 4% of European GBP remaining even in financially challenging times a growth sector. Across Europe and the UK the arts and cultural sector continues to make valuable and significant contributions to the social and economic wellbeing of society as a whole. Many young people participate actively within the urban arts and cultural sector, engaging in music, dance theatre, carnival, visual, digital arts and social media on-line forms. The arts play an important part in the development of young people, not only in the acquisition of new skills and competences but as a tool for empowerment, giving young people a platform to express their voices, views and ideas. The main challenge for youth empowerment in the cultural sector remains, young people are very rarely involved in decision making within the cultural sector, with little on no opportunity to influence policy or to reach those who make important decisions. Young people particularity those from backgrounds of less opportunity, have limited access to decision and policy makers who are responsible for defining and shaping arts and cultural policy. Through this project young people aim to question and challenge not only current arts and cultural policy (through its makers) but the distribution of resources that currently sees massive inequalities between London and the regions in order to ensure a fairer and more inclusive and democratic cultural sector. Project context: Young people are passionate about the arts and are the primary authors and practitioners within a wide range of urban contexts. Arts and cultural work continues to be used as effective tools for engaging young people in exploring diversity, citizenship, cohesion and social inclusion. There is however a lack of visibility and understanding at a policy level of the varied and diverse practices within urban youth arts work and its impact at a wider civil society level. Our proposed project will give young people the opportunity to engage with cultural sector policy and decision makers. With this in mind we have planned a series of regional meetings and a national three day national meeting that will develop opportunities for young urban artists and performers; promote greater understanding of models of best practice.The venue: Liverpool, United Kingdom.The type of project: A national meeting of young people from culturally diverse backgrounds who are engaged in urban arts and cultural activities. This meeting will bring together young people and policy/decision makers from across the UKThe theme: The impact of urban arts and culturally diverse activity on policies relating to cultural diversity, citizenship, community cohesion and social inclusion.The objectives: For young people to demonstrate why, and how, culturally diverse urban arts are used as tools to develop leadership skills, aspiration and potential of young people from backgrounds of less opportunity through presenting a diverse range of national projects; To actively show how effective communication and dialogue between young people, professionals and policy makers is the key to a successful cultural workforce of the future; To inform policy makers about existing models of good practice; To explore a contemporary urban identities through arts workshops and experience inter cultural dialogue through peer group learning. The duration in days: The event will last for 3 days, with the planning, preparation and evaluation phase lasting 3 months.The number of participants: The project is a national youth meeting for 70 young people aged 18-30 years and 10 experts/specialists.The implemented activities and methods applied: Together the participants will take part in inter cultural activities, practical, hands-on creative networking sessions, an open-space debate, case study presentations and showcases delivered by young people and professionals. Our approach will see the morning sessions explore participation, cultural diversity and the concepts of citizenship and inclusion. In the afternoons the participants will discuss this with experts, policy makers and arts practitioners on how these areas are or can be translated into policy. Potential longer term benefits for this project will be:Develop the capacity of the partners to collaborate in future initiatives;For young people to develop micro enterprises within the cultural industries;Deepening knowledge, skills and attitude in order to better organize international projects;Provide insight into international best practice in relation to employment development within the cultural sector;Explore models of arts development that act as key tools and drivers for youth employment and wider community development;For the participants to further create and develop the possibility for new international mobility experiences that impact on their professional development and employability.