The Active Change Foundation runs various projects under the umbrella of its shared values to fulfil its objectives. Each project benefits specific user groups and focuses on bringing forth progression in a challenging environment.

Below is a small list of the projects we run:

Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE)

Preventing violence is one of the core activities of ACF and we work towards protecting young people in a hostile environment and as such generate a degree of stability within communities. This project resides at the top end of risk and deals with those most vulnerable, as well as creating a porthole of knowledge and information sharing for practitioners in the same field. ACF works with various stakeholders and individuals and has a skill for tackling its work with credibility, sensitivity and confidentiality.

• Providing training and consultancy based on ACF models
• Hard Edged Interventions
• Rehabilitation
• Personal development

Youth Centre & Youth Projects

ACF is famously known for its youth centre which acts as a central hub, attracting young people of all backgrounds & religious denominations. The centre provides many facilities and assistance for young people and focuses on collectively creating positive opportunities for them. The other dimension to this centre is to keep young people off the streets and in a more safe and controlled environment. Below is a short list of the various functions and sub-projects, some of which are Award winning initiatives.

• Young Leaders Project (Working closely with the UK Defence Academy to provide unique leadership training)
• Discussion & personal development Workshops
• Adventurous training Project
• Entrepreneurship/Skills based learning
• Career development
• Defending Da Hood Conferences
• Pool competition
• Charity Bike Ride/Fun Walk
• Sports tournaments
• Hard Talk Debates with foreign & UK diplomats 
• Engagement with educational institutions

Outreach

The outreach teams main objective is to engage young people from outside the normal engaging mechanisms like the youth centre or the gym. Essentially to remain in touch with individuals who do not normally attend youth centres etc. The Outreach team are extremely effective in terms of developing relationships and understanding with young people from across the area. Another successful aspect has been that the team have created a presence in the community and are recognised by the general public as positive engagers and have also intervened and mediated in matters pertaining to gang violence & street crime, resulting in safeguarding young people and the community. An example of this is that the outreach team have on a few occasions prevented gang fights from escalating and have found solutions and alternative methods to diffuse any unrest, which can often prove tough for the police or authorities. The outreach team as a whole are seen as community stabilisers.

Community Engagement

To successfully work in a diverse community, it is necessary to hold a positive relationship with the wider community, specifically the Muslim community including community elders, families, younger children, local authorities, mosques and other organisation. ACF facilitates events and classes for external groups (see the following list), which develops a gateway for ACF to the local community. We engage with the following groups, allowing them to hold events and engaging with them regularly. We also set up hard talk discussions which extracts opinions and plays the role of mediating within the community.

• Walthamstow Poets Society
• Local Sufi Society
• Ink pot to the grave
• Local Madrasah (Islamic school for kids)
• Local Schools & colleges
• Local youth groups etc

Pakistan

In August 2011 ACF initiated a project called UMEED in the AJK region of Pakistan. UMEED means HOPE and is also an acronym meaning Unity, Motivation, Education, Empower & Develop. The prime focus of this project is to engage with the wider AJK community and the youth, primarily through a Youth Centre, namely the Mirpur Youth Centre (MYC). The MYC is essentially a carbon copy of the ACF youth centre in the UK. And has been designed to fulfil the needs of ACF's methods of engagement and intervention. On a daily basis the centre attracts over 40 young people from the region and ACF has greater plans throughout 2011-2012 to develop the youth community of Mirpur AJK via the following activities and programs:

• Monthly Newsletters
• Community Engagement including outreach
• Female Engagement
• Adventurous training
• Leadership skills based Projects
• Personal development and conflict resolution training
• Workshops based upon crisis & chaos management
• Sports Tournaments
• Hard talk debates
• Capacity Building with potential partners in the region
• Media & Drama workshops with youth