A delegation from the City of Little Rock in Arkansas visited Building Futures East as part of their week long stay in Newcastle upon Tyne in May as part of the development of a ‘Sister City’ relationship.

The visit arranged by Councillor John Stokel-Walker, who is a Board member of Building Futures East was also attended by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Newcastle upon Tyne, Councillors David and Margaret Wood.

Vice Mayor of Arkansas, Gene Fortson was clearly impressed that the project addresses both the needs of local employers and communities to open up a wide range of training, employment and social enterprise opportunities.

The delegation were also keen to open discussions to inform the development of policy and practice in their home city and have invited Anthony Woods-Waters, Chief Executive of Building Futures East to visit and share his knowledge of tackling worklessness at a local level with similar projects and groups in Little Rock.