Guy Mitchell (9R) and James Thomsen (10B) recently represented Rich’s at the ‘Gloucestershire Vision 2050 Conference’, which was held at ‘The Crypt’ school. It was organised by ‘Growing Gloucestershire gFirst LEP’, with the aim of consulting with a range of young people about their views, concerns and ideas of how Gloucestershire should develop in the future. The full official press release can be read below.

PRESS RELEASE

Leaders of 2050 give their vision forthe future

The managing directors and business leaders of the future gave their insight into what Gloucestershire will look like in 2050 at a seminar event run by GFirst LEP and Gloucestershire County Council in November. By inviting students to discuss their views of what the future of Gloucestershire holds, GFirst hopes to gain a different perspective for strategic planning.

The event saw students aged 16-18 from 20 schools come together and discuss education, work, energy, the environment and how to accommodate the growth in population without spoiling the green spaces of the county.

Their vision suggests that Gloucestershire 2050 will be a technologically advanced civilisation, with technology making life simpler. We may be living in houses built underground to preserve green space and agricultural land, with virtual reality creating windows to imagined landscapes.

David Owen, Chief Executive of GFirst LEP commented: “It was so inspiring to hear the ideas of young people living in Gloucestershire today, on the county they want to live and work in over the coming years. The discussions led to a number of imaginative and exciting ideas for the future including education, community and business, to name a few. Working so closely with these young people, as well as a range of local business representatives, has made our job of planning a more effective and visionary Gloucestershire fascinating.”

Gloucestershire County Council Chief Executive, Peter Bungard, said: “For Gloucestershire to thrive, we need a vision of what we hope the county will be like a generation ahead. A group of sector experts were asked by GFirst LEP and the County Council to suggest some options for a successful Gloucestershire 2050. However, perhaps even more important will be the views of those who might be leading lights in our county in 30 years’ time. I am delighted that we have been able to get a group of school students together to undertake the same piece of thinking, and the feedback so far is proving incredibly positive.”

The next step for GFirst LEP is to formulate the next stages of its plan for the county. A report of this workshop, and others with a similar agenda but participants at different career stages will follow.

David Owen concluded: “By looking ahead to where we want to be and working back from that point, we can generate a growth plan with clear milestones to reach to achieve that view, that Vision 2050”.

For more information, please visit: http://www.gfirstlep.com/