Further to ‘What we pay our Council Tax for.’

Following my last post on the Hillingdon council poster campaign there then followed some emails between myself and Emma Marsh at Hillingdon council regarding the matter.

The reason behind the poster campaign was explained:

‘…the purpose of the poster campaign, which is for a new youth website that has been launched this month. The site has specifically been designed for young people in Hillingdon after considerable consultation with them about their experiences and the issues that affect them. One of the aspects that came out of this was that young people feel that sometimes they are stereotyped and this is what the respect poster is referring to.
The initial posters that you have seen are designed to grab attention and make people ask questions about what is coming next. We have already replaced these posters with similar designs which also direct people to go to the new website. The new website hosts lots of news and advice for young people aged 11 to 19 on areas such as studying, health, relationships and local activities that they can get involved in. The council is committed to ensuring young people are healthy, safe and supported and we hope that by encouraging young people to go to the site, we can signpost them to areas that will help them to take a more active role in local community and make the most of all of the opportunities and activities available to them. It is not specifically for young people from any particular background or housing areas as you have suggested- it’s aimed at being a resource for all.’

The posters were advertising the Council website http://young.hillingdon.gov.uk/ a dreary but functional link based advice site.

As far as addressing my concerns about the message of the posters, the response went along the lines of: