The Story of NCZ

On April 20th 2011, a young man named Milad Golmakani was stabbed to death in broad daylight by a group of four young men in North London. He died in hospital less than two hours after the incident. Both Milad and his four assailants were known to service providers, youth services and the police. Yet, for all the energy, goodwill and resources directed toward these young people, the tragedy had not been averted. 

That same year, the Winch took young people, partners and local residents to visit youth projects in Harlem, New York City, to research ways of making a greater impact. They returned with several critical insights, which slowly but surely would lead the way to forming the North Camden Zone. 

The North Camden Zone came out of a recognition that the way in which citizens, charities, private enterprise, and statutory services work together needs to be reimagined in order to meet the array of challenges we face. NCZ offers a systemic approach grounded in asset-based community development. By this, we mean an approach which both harnesses the assets across a community, and engages with the cultural, financial, political, and various structural drivers that influence behaviour, outcomes and, ultimately, impact.

NCZ formally started in 2015, and since then has worked with local residents predominantly in social and temporary housing in North Camden. This includes the England’s Lane hostel, the Chalcots estate, and the Hilgrove estate. In all of our work, we cultivate the conditions that enable resident-led change. This involves a myriad of work, including: community research, amplifying resident voices, participatory budgeting and co-designing, testing and scaling ideas for community-led change with residents and professionals, and sharing our learning. 

Through all of our work, we try to positively shape the structures that govern the daily lives of our local community, working towards a future where tragedies like Milad’s are always averted, long before it is too late.