A new City Gateway ‘Perspectives’ project, launched at the Canary Wharf Shopping Centre this week, will challenge over 1 million people to rethink what Tower Hamlets really means to them. The project challenges them to sum up their feelings on just a Post-It note and is run by charity City Gateway, which has been linking the local community into the opportunities and resources found at the Wharf for over 10 years.

The charity challenged more than 300 of the disadvantaged women and formerly NEET (not in education, employment & training) young people they currently support to answer the question ‘What does Tower Hamlets mean to you?’. A selection of their responses have been blown-up to a giant size, alongside one from Sir Ian McKellen and comments previously made by politicians Tessa Jowell MP, Iain Duncan Smith MP, Jim Fitzpatrick MP and John Biggs. They will be on display throughout March and April in the Community Arts Window at the Canary Wharf Shopping Centre in a space kindly provided free by the Canary Wharf Group.

Sir Ian McKellen, who lives round the corner from the charity’s Limehouse Youth Centre and is a regular supporter of their work, simply commented “For over 30 years Tower Hamlets has been my home”. A selection of other comments made include: “There are many opportunities in Tower Hamlets”, “I like Tower Hamlets because of the food (especially PFC)”, “I haven’t been outside of Tower Hamlets in 5 years”, “Llamas in Mudchute farm” and “Training turned my life round, hopefully I can inspire others throughout TH”.

Marketing Manager Jerry Daykin explains, “The window celebrates the diversity of Tower Hamlets and the different individuals we work & partner with. It is also a challenge to the million people who’ll walk past it as to what they themselves think about the area they live, work or perhaps just shop in. We’re launching a website at the same time where anyone will be able to go online, read more of the existing insights and contribute their own.”

The project aims to widen people’s perspectives on the unique borough - home to the Tower of London, Brick Lane, Canary Wharf and one of the most diverse populations found anywhere in the World – and to underline the importance of breaking down the barriers which can exist between the local community and the big businesses based here.

City Gateway’s CEO Eddie Stride explains, “City Gateway was founded by local business people who wanted to use their skills, and the resources of their companies and colleagues, to raise skill levels and empower individuals in Tower Hamlets. Despite great opportunities created by Canary Wharf and the Olympics many local residents are just not equipped to take advantage of them. Our work is having a real impact on individual lives and has started to turn statistics around, and a great part of that has been the support of local firms through donations, volunteering and apprenticeship work placements. The project isn’t about highlighting differences but about bringing diverse communities together and recognising the strengths and needs of them all.”

The display also features a range of photos taken by the charity’s service users and other local residents. The project will really take off with the launch of a new website by Gateway Media (www.citygateway.org.uk/perspectives) which will allow other residents to submit their own perspectives and respond to the existing selection. The window is located in the Canada Place Mall, round the corner from Waitrose and next to the Krispy Kreme Doughnut company.