The first International Youthbuilding Congress is to be held in London on 16-17 October, bringing together young people from underprivileged backgrounds in Europe and the USA.
Several celebrity guests are expected at the event, which forms part of National Construction Week. These include Lennox Lewis, boxing heavyweight world champion, and Al Gore, former American vice-president.

Deputy prime minister John Prescott, who is in charge of housing policy, is also expected to attend.

Youth organisations that work directly with children, and a range of figures from the construction industry, will discuss problems over recruitment and standards.

Those invited to speak include Ian Davies of the Federation of Master Builders and Peter Lobbin, chief executive of the Construction Industry Training Board.

In the run-up to the congress, 100 of the delegates – young builders from Youthbuild USA and from Germany – will join British trainees working on a schools regeneration project in west London.