Youth summit lays the foundations for effective intergenerational working
Stacey Aplin
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Youth summit sees young people gather to debate key environmental and social issues and plan a national campaign to highlight concerns and solutions.
- Provider Groundwork
- Name Groundwork Youth Summit 2017
In August, 60 young people from across the UK attended Groundwork's inaugural Youth Summit in Birmingham. It was organised as part of the charity's "Groundwork Youth" campaign to reach 100,000 young people in two years with a positive message that will develop their leadership skills and inspire and support them to have a greater say in the decision making in their local communities.
The aims of the Youth Summit were twofold - first, for Groundwork to start supporting the delegates with their tasks to be powerful advocates for young people and second, to get a large proportion of the ambassadors together in one room to work towards a common agenda.
Young people learned about public speaking, responsible internet citizenship, and campaigning. Experts from a range of organisations were also invited to share information about the services they can provide and what they can do to encourage adults to listen to young people and create opportunities for them to develop in their communities.
Speakers from organisations including Team Future; Advocacy Academy, Friends of the Earth and Rethink Mental Illness also gave their views on what they think are the biggest barriers facing young people in 2017 and beyond in order to get conversations flowing and address key issues and concerns. Panellists also discussed how access to green space can improve mental wellbeing, which supports the argument that green spaces can proactively contribute to public health provision in communities.
Groundwork Youth was founded on the idea that young people not only need more opportunities to play active roles in their communities, but want the opportunities to get more involved in issues that affect their local community's future - a view backed by a Groundwork survey in 2015 which found that 69 per cent of young people could be motivated to volunteer in parks and green spaces.
At the very core of Groundwork Youth sits 13 Youth Advisory Board members, aged 16 to 24, who oversee and direct the work of 100 of their peers who act as young green ambassadors and promote positive youth-led environmental action through online and offline campaigns in their local communities.
In flying the green flag in their communities, Groundwork's young green ambassadors will need the support of decision makers and influencers where they live to be effective. It is hoped that Groundwork Youth will prove that effective intergenerational working is possible if both parties are listened to and value each other's ideas on how to create thriving prosperous neighbourhoods that are "young people friendly".
As Groundwork Youth continues it will be important to keep the momentum of the Youth Summit going as the campaign takes shape.
Stacey Aplin is communications officer at Groundwork
My View
By Lauren Jenkins, 21
"I was really interested in working with Groundwork Youth to gain experience and leadership skills to promote the values of green spaces, re-using furniture, and helping people with employment and their wellbeing.
After attending the Groundwork Youth Summit I have come away inspired and motivated to tackle issues facing young people today. Everyone was incredibly passionate about the causes which created a real buzz throughout the day.
Throughout the day workshops were held. I particularly enjoyed The Speakers Trust on how to speak effectively in public and what makes a great speech. I also learned a lot during the Introduction to Campaigning workshop by Friends of the Earth.
The Youth Advisory Board had a very productive first meeting, and we have outlined our three main campaign ideas - mental health, environmental issues and social inclusion. These will form the basis of our national campaign which I'm really excited to begin. I am motivated to learn new skills that will enable me to implement change within society and promote values surrounding the environment, education, employment and wellbeing."