Almost 60,000 school pupils in the Belfast and South Eastern Education Board areas are to benefit from a new scheme, introduced to encourage them into the city centre.
Be Rewarded was launched by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Pat Convery, at a special function in Belfast City Hall this week.
The scheme, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, will offer discount cards to 11-18 years olds at 73 post-primary schools and colleges in the Greater Belfast area.
“This is a thrilling and innovative scheme,” said Andrew Irvine of Belfast City Centre Management, which is behind the idea.
“We want to make the centre of Belfast a vibrant and exciting place in which to socialise and shop. There is no better way than by encouraging young people to play their part in developing the fabric of our capital city.”
More than 65 businesses in Belfast will participate in Be Rewarded, offering discounts and value-added offers.
Andrew Irvine continued:“The scheme recognises that children and young people, who make-up a significant percentage of city centre users, need to be engaged with, encouraged to use the city centre shops, cafes and cinemas, and rewarded for good behaviour.
“To achieve this, under Belfast City Centre Management`s theme of making Belfast safer, the cards will be removed from any young person who comes before the Youth Justice Agency for offending behaviour. The scheme is supported by the police.”
The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Pat Convery, officially launched Be Rewarded at Belfast City Hall in front of invited school pupils and said he was delighted that Belfast City Centre management had recognised the need for such an exciting scheme.
“One of the central issues for the future development of Belfast is connecting with the next generation of city centre users to make the city attractive and safe for all Belfast citizens and for visitors,” the Lord Mayor said.
“The introduction of this Be Rewarded scheme is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland,” he went on.
“It recognises that all children should be rewarded for being good and not demonised through largely incorrect perceptions of anti-social behaviour and negative news media stories.
“This scheme has the potential to bring 58,000 young people and their parents to Belfast City Centre. Cafes, shops and cinemas have a great diversity of offer and I am sure young people will make good use of their cards. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those shops, cafes and cinemas for offering their discounts. Without them the scheme would not work.”
The partners in the scheme are Belfast City Centre Management,Youth Justice Agency,Victoria Square Shopping Centre,Westfield Castlecourt Shopping Centre and the Northern Ireland Youth Forum.
