The Social Switch Project
Catch22 has partnered with Redthread, a leading charity tackling youth violence to deliver The Social Switch Project. The project is funded by the Mayor of London's Violence Reduction Unit.
16+ | London
The Social Switch Project is switching the narrative on how social media’s relationship to youth violence is understood, tackled and solved.
The Social Switch Project launched when Google.org was seeking a way to tackle the growing issue of antisocial and violent online behaviour, which often leads to violence offline.
Where antisocial behaviour was once mostly limited to a physical audience, harmful content is now rapidly shared online, resulting in retaliation and feeding gang violence. This programme contributes to the public health approach to tackling youth violence. Utilising funding from the corporate sector, Catch22 and Redthread are able to offer these learning opportunities for London’s young people and professionals.
The project has a three-pronged approach to address online violence
An industry-led social media course for young people
A full-time training and work experience programme for young people. Training creative and motivated young people to manage social media and develop sustainable digital careers, this four-week programme includes mentoring and a unique placement for each trainee after their course.
With the support of national and international organisations each trainee will be supported to get sustainable work in the digital world. We believe that all young people, no matter what their background, should have access to opportunities in the digital workforce.
Dates for the next cohort: Tuesday 8th February – Thursday 3rd March
- Week 1: Tuesday 8th, Wednesday 9th, Thursday 10th
- Week 2: Tuesday 15th, Wednesday 16th, Thursday 17th
- Week 3: Tuesday 22th, Wednesday 23st, Thursday 24th
- Week 4: Tuesday 1st, Wednesday 2nd , Thursday 3rd
Training for frontline professionals
To be an effective professional, be it a social worker, police officer, teacher or youth worker, we must address all parts of a young person’s life, including their digital world. This free one-day interactive course, aimed at professionals working with young people, will give them the confidence to deal with the challenges and opportunities of social media.
London grants pool
The Social Switch Project has a pool of funds to support London-based initiatives that positively impact young people. The grants are designed to support organisations or individuals to create, deliver and expand projects which improve community engagement.
Whether you need help making your idea a reality, or you have already launched, The Social Switch Project wants to both support and fund the best grassroots thinking.
To find out more about The Social Switch Project please visit the website.
Related publications
- Social Media as a Catalyst and Trigger for Youth Violence
- Tackling Crime Together – A Public Health Approach
- Catch22, Google and Redthread launch programme designed to build capacity in frontline workers working to tackle youth violence.
Referral options for this service
You can refer yourself
You can refer family or a friend
You can refer a client
To refer a client onto The Social Switch Project, please fill out this form.
To refer yourself onto The Social Switch Project, please fill out this form.
Volunteer and placement opportunities
You can't volunteer for this service
You can't get a placement at this service