Manchester will be launched into a year-long campaign to be recognised by UNICEF as a ‘Child Friendly City’ next year.
The 2022: Our Year campaign hopes to create a legacy for children and young people living here through events, support and opportunities.
Manchester’s young people have spent more than 12 months of their formative years in lockdown or under some sort of Covid restrictions.
Manchester City Council is now hoping to help them reclaim their futures.
Ambassadors of the 2022: Our Year campaign include Coronation Street’s Cath Tyldesley, Night Time Economy Adviser and Parklife boss Sacha Lord, hospitality entrepreneur Aaron Mellor, radio presenter Chris Hawkins, and LGBTQ+ campaigner Carl Austin Behan OBE.
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The ambassadors are respected local figures and innovators from a range of industries and backgrounds.
They have pledged to support the campaign with experience, time and talent, taking part in events, supporting fundraising projects, and providing work experience and mentoring.
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The group of ambassadors, which also includes Forever Unique founder Seema Malhotra, actress Brooke Vincent, and professional footballer Kean Bryan, will be involved in TEDx-style talks, a summer sports festival and a career event.
The year-long 2022: Our Year campaign is being spearheaded by chief executive Joanne Roney OBE, leader elect Bev Craig, and councillor Garry Bridges, who will lay the foundations to make a lasting, positive difference for the city’s next generation.
Leader elect of Manchester City Council Bev Craig said: “Covid-19 has laid bare the inequalities that are deep rooted in our society.
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We're launching #2022OurYear, a campaign that aims to create opportunities for young people and make #Manchester a @UNICEF Child-Friendly City.
“Around a third of Manchester’s children are currently growing up in poverty and our young people have felt the brunt of the impact of the pandemic – missing vital education and left isolated from their friends.
“A formative time in their lives has been cruelly taken away from them. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds have been hit even harder.
“We are a city with a powerful social conscience and 2022: Our Year is about closing the gap between the haves and have-nots.
“We cannot shy away from the challenges that face our city and it is our responsibility to do everything we can to ensure that everyone in this city can share its success.
“This work won’t happen overnight, but the aim of this journey is to show our young people that they can succeed. We want to inspire them to think big, believe in their own potential and – ultimately – we want Manchester to be the very best city a young person can grow up in.”
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Sacha Lord – Night Time Economy Adviser to Greater Manchester.
CREDIT – Darren Robinson Photography
2022: Our Year will kick-start a two-year accreditation process to be recognised by UNICEF as a Child Friendly City.
To achieve the status, a place must demonstrate that the voices, needs, priorities and rights are part of public policies and decisions.
Manchester City Council will also create sponsorship opportunities for businesses, where companies can support funds like the Our Year Activities Fund (providing meals and activities during school holidays) and the Our Year Legacy Fund (day-to-day support for vulnerable children’s basic needs).
Councillor Garry Bridges, executive member for children and schools at Manchester City Council, said: “The last couple of years have been hard for children and young people – particularly in Manchester, where more face-to-face teaching has been missed than anywhere else in the country.
“Despite the challenges, our young people have shown dedication and resilience throughout and now it’s time for our city to stand up for their futures.
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“Over the last few months we have gone out and listened to young people in every part of the city – they have told us what matters to them, and we now need to give young people the opportunities they want and deserve.
“We’re calling 2022 a ‘year of opportunity’ – but this 12 months is just a kick-start. We want this commitment to be long-lasting and one more thing that sets Manchester apart -with children and young people at the heart of everything we do.”
Joanne Roney OBE, chief executive of Manchester City Council, explained: “2022 will be dedicated to our young people. We will create a year of opportunities, experiences and activities that will inspire, engage and support young people in this city. To do this we need help.
“To meet our ambition to create a true and lasting legacy, which will help young people in this city to achieve their dreams, we need to work together. We the public and private sector to work in partnership, pulling in the same direction to put young people at the heart of the city’s future.
“We would love to hear from businesses who share this ambition. Let’s make 2022 the turning point for young people in Manchester.”
Featured image: Unsplash
Manchester
Enormous Manchester venue set to open (again) after brief rebrand
Daisy Jackson
A huge, glamorous restaurant and bar space looks set to reopen just months after it closed down and attempted to rebrand.
SakkuSamba announced back in June that it was closing for a short while to undergo a refurbishment.
That news came after two years hosting all-you-can-eat sushi dinners and star-studded parties in Spinningfields, like an afterparty with Ne-Yo following his show at the AO Arena.
They wrote at the time: “Exciting News! We will be closing our doors on June 2nd for an exciting refurbishment and upgrade. We’re sorry to be closing for a little while, but stay tuned for updates over the next couple of weeks as we begin this transition!
“We can’t wait to show you what’s coming next soon!”
But then SakkuSamba never reopened and the space instead became Raft, essentially Manchester’s most boujie buffet.
Raft had a huge dining room upstairs, a hidden club room, a ‘toilet disco’, 360-degree DJ booths, and a ‘coastal boozer’ on the ground floor.
The restaurant when it was previously SakkuSamba. Credit: The Manc GroupVs when it was Raft. Credit: The Manc Group
Raft was only open for three months when it was suddenly bolted shut, with a forteiture notice in the window that was apparently linked to a ‘historic dispute’.
And now, in an unexpected twist in events, SakkuSamba has shared that it’s coming back to Manchester.
Keeping up okay? Let’s continue.
In the first post since announcing the temporary closure and refurbishment of both of its restaurants (in Manchester and in Bradford), SakkuSamba wrote: “SakkuSamba 2025. Manchester keep your eyes peeled, major announcement coming soon.”
If it follows the same format it took previously, that means a fusion of Brazilian and Japanese cuisine together in a swanky all-you-can-eat setting.
And hopefully it’ll last longer than poor Raft did…
Manchester set for its busiest weekend of the year with pop-up Park and Rides to open
Emily Sergeant
Pop-up Park and Ride facilities are set to open as Manchester prepares for what’s expected to be its busiest weekend of the year.
The festive season in the run up to Christmas always sees more people flock to the city centre than usual, but this weekend will likely be even busier than expected, as not only are Manchester Christmas Markets still in full swing, but there are also a number of gigs, live festive shows, and major sporting events coinciding with this.
So in a weekend that sees legends gigging and the Manchester Derby take place, as you would expect, thousands are predicted to flock to Manchester city centre and Etihad Campus.
Manchester Christmas Markets are in full swing and Paul McCartney will be at Co-op Live this weekend / Credit: The Manc Group | Wikimedia Commons
Because of this, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is taking action and encouraging people to dodge the likely congestion and use public transport instead where possible – with pop-up Park and Rides set to be introduced for weekend shoppers and fun-seekers who do want or need to drive.
On Saturday and Sunday, Booth Street West Car Park D (M15 6PD) – which will have 965 parking spaces available – will be free for customers travelling to the city centre by bus, and then again on Sunday, the same car park will be free for those attending Paul McCartney at Co-op Live.
Your ticket to the gig must be shown on entry, before a dedicated shuttle bus then takes you from the car park to the Etihad Campus.
Disney On Ice will be hosting four shows at AO Arena this weekend / Credit: Supplied
Shuttle buses – which are only available on the Sunday – will depart from Higher Cambridge Street and run to Co-op Live and back every 15 mins from 4pm until midnight.
Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground (Talbot Road, Stretford, M16 0PX) will also have 500 parking spaces available for Metrolink customers on Sunday, but you must show a valid pre-booked tram ticket to park there.
On Sunday [15 Dec], we’re offering free parking at Emirates Old Trafford to help relieve congestion in the city.
The Park and Ride is available to customers with a valid tram ticket purchased on the app, at a ticket machine or via contactless.
Anyone else planning to drive across the weekend may also want to consider using one of the permanent Park and Ride sites and complete their journey on foot or by public transport, and you can find more information and the locations of these sites on the Bee Network website here.
Tram capacity has been increased for the festive season, with every available tram running until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
The V1 and 36 bus services now also run 24 hours a day.
Other late-running buses on the Bee Network from Manchester include the 43 service to Manchester Airport, the 86 to Sale, and the 142 to East Didsbury.
Daisy Jackson -
30th November 2021 
