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ForewordJillAdamson3Inthesetimesofgreateconomicuncertaintywehaveyettoseetherealimpactofthecreditcrunchuponyouththeatresyoungpeopleandtheartsingeneral.Theuncertaintyitselfhasledmostofustolookcloselyatwhatwecanachieverealisticallyandhowwecanberesourcefulandresilient.Intimesofeconomichardshipsomeorganisationsinstinctivelybecomeinward-lookinggathertogethertheirownpoolofresourcesandworkouthowlongthatpoolmightlastiftheyreverycarefulAsthecompetitionforfundingaudiencesandparticipantsincreaseswemightthereforeunderstandthisbehaviourbutwemustnotcondoneit.Wehaveadutytohelpoursectorstounderstandthatcollaborativepracticeandpartnershipworkingarecrucialifwewanttoachievesustainability.Sharingideaspracticeandresourcescanmakeahugedifferencetothecontinuationofvitalservicesforandwithyoungpeopleandoutofcollaborationsandpartnershipsarisenewopportunitiesandsupportnetworks.Sothetimingofthisdocumentcouldntbebetter.ThistoolkitwillprovideavaluableresourcetoyouththeatreswantingtocollaborateanditsitscomfortablyalongsideTheNationalAssociationofYouthTheatresNAYTambitionstosupportmoreopportunitiestobringgroupsofyoungpeopletogethertoshareworkandideasandtobringthesectortogethertohelpthemselvesandeachother.Weknowthatthemoregroupsareabletoworktogethertheywillbeabletofocustheirresourcesandaccomplishbestworkingpracticeacrosstheyouththeatresector.Wealsohaveawealthofevidencewhichprovesthatbringinggroupsofyoungpeopletogetherwithsharedgoalsandinterestschangesandshapestheirlives.Itsgreattoseethatpartofthelearningistheneedtoputyoungpeoplesopinionsattheheartoftheworkandtoensureinfuturethatyoungpeopletakeonleadershiproles.Itsexcitingandencouragingtoseeyouththeatrepracticebeingdocumentedinthiswayandthatsuchprojectsareindependentlyndingwaystosharetheirlearning.Itsacelebrationoftheirownachievementsanditalsohelpsustoencourageandsupportothers.Notonlyisthisatoolkitforsharedlearningbutanadvocacydocumentwhichprovesthesectorsabilitytomakethingshappenbyworkingtogetherandexplainstothoseoutsideofthesectorwhathappensinyouththeatreprojects.NAYThasspentthelasttwoyearsdevelopingexcitingnewinitiativesfortheyouththeatresectorseewww.nayt.org.ukWhatwevelearntduringthosetwoyearsisalsoreectedinthistoolkitthatpartnershipsarebynomeanseasy.Thisdocumentbravelydescribestoyoutheobstacleschallengesandmistakesandhowtheywereovercome.Ittalksaboutthetensionswhichcanexistinpartnershipworkinganddoesntpaintanunrealisticpictureofwhattoexpect.Likeanyrelationshipaworkingpartnershipneedstobenurtureditrequirestoleranceunderstandingandcompromiseandaboveallelseitneedcleargoalsandclearcommunication.Wearekeenthatthisdocumentandothersthatmaybebeingproduceddonotsimplysitonashelfbutratherthattheyareusedandwidelydisseminatedtocontinuallydevelopthesector.NAYTChiefExecutive