The importance of this visit is underlined by the number of agencies who are providing support. Apart from the Youth Charter for Sport, Hulme Regeneration Limited, and Manchester City Council, organisations such as British Airways, Reebok, the Sports Council, the American Amateur Athletic Foundation, the British American Chamber of Commerce, Granada Television and the British Consulate in LA are also actively involved. Without doubt, the social, cultural and professional issues facing our young people impact heavily on our communities and the role of sport and its capacity for creating a positive social change has, until recently, been wholly overlooked. For example, the enthusiasm built up in Manchester's Olympic bid and now the Commonwealth Games campaign was amazing, and since then we have been looking at ways of harnessing that spirit. We have assembled an itinerary that allows the youth to see how sport is making a difference in schools, churches and sports clubs.
Youth projects are an integral part of our plans.
In recognition of Manchester City Council's contribution to youth development through sport and their continued commitment to sport and leisure in the economic regeneration of the City, through initiatives such as the 2000 Olympic Bid Campaign and the 2002 Commonwealth Games Bid, lain Sproat presented a Youth Charter for Sport scroll to Councillor Pat Karney, Chairman of Leisure Services on behalf of the City Council. Hulme Regeneration Limited is a joint venture company created to co-ordinate effort and to provide and maintain the strategic framework for this exceptionally complex initiative.