Supporting Hull's young people

I hope as many people as possible sign the city's Fight for Freedom Petition to end modern slavery.
An estimated 27 million people across the world are trapped in the most horrendous situations, including forced and bonded labour and prostitution – and highlighting their plight has been one of the great achievements of our Wilberforce 2007 year.
We've done it through a wide variety of concerts, exhibitions, festivals and workshops – and on the centre pages of this issue you can look back at some of those amazing events – and find out how to sign the petition.
Our front cover person this month is Gary Power who volunteers as a mentor with Hull's Youth Offending Team.
He's built up a rapport with a 17-year-old lad who was involved in crime and spends a couple of hours each week with him, helping him to contribute to society in a more positive way.
The article about Gary, on page 14, appeals for more mentors to help some of the city's disaffected youth.
But it's worth noting that the majority of our young people are decent, law-abiding citizens.
And it is just as important to support those high-achieving gifted and talented young people as it is to support those who are in danger of falling into crime.
More than 600 young people every week will receive expert tuition at the Albemarle Music Centre when it opens this month.
And I'm sure many of them will want to follow in the footsteps of Hull cellist Gay-Yee Westerhoff, now a member of the acclaimed classical pop group Bond which has sold three million albums worldwide and performed in 46 different countries.
Her success is testament to the value of music lessons she received from the local authority - as a child at Bransholme's Highlands primary and at the former Amy Johnson secondary school.
You can read Gay-Yee's inspirational story and about the new Albemarle centre on page 16.
Finally, Christmas mince pies have been on sale in the shops for the last few weeks now – but for me the real start of Christmas will be the Christmas lights switch-on on Sunday November 18.
For more details see page 19. Hope to see you there!

Cllr Carl Minns
Leader, Hull City Council