I was invited to join the young judges table again because 15 years ago I started working with CYP Now to source and support young people to be its award judges. At a time when we are debating the future for a national youth-voice council for the UK, the 'young judges panel' is a good example of how an organisation like CYP Now not only champions youth-voice principles but embeds it in their practice. In 2006, CYP Now magazine produced the Participation Charter in consultation with the youth sector and in partnership with young people through the Participation Works Consortium (PWC) of national charities and their networks. It puts these values into practice by giving equal weight to its young judges’ scores across 24 categories of their own awards and I've used the opportunity to seek out future young leaders to experience the process - an experience of the value of recognition they will take into their future careers. (The charter and indeed the PWC structure are both worth revisiting to inform the current youth voice debate and I’ll write about this in the coming weeks).
The annual awards ceremony really makes everyone feel special. Hundreds of short-listed candidates are welcomed to a prestigious venue with top nosh, a celebrity host and musical entertainment (a children's choir this year). The whoops of joy from staff and volunteers as each nomination is read out is only surpassed in displays of delight from the winners skipping to the stage and brandishing their trophies aloft like the champions they are!
Although I wish there were more short-listed youth participation projects or youth voice champions there have been exceptions in the past, such as the young campaigner and first Chair of the Youth Select Committee, Dara Farrel (then aged 18) who won an award in 2012 for his campaigning work to save youth services, and Jack Welch (aged 24) who won the Children's Champion award for his 'autism awareness' and 'youth voice' work in 2017.
This was why, inspired by the CYP Now Awards and the other award initiatives that I've worked for at the Prince's Trust (now King's) and at the British Youth Council, that I started the Campaign4 Youth Recognition at Young Voices Heard (YVH) in 2016. This aims to make the big national and 'open to all' schemes more accessible by signposting links and information about how to nominate to the Pride of Britain Awards, the King's New Years and Birthday Honours, the Prime Minister’s Points of Light, the Diana Awards, the British Young Citizen Awards, and the #iwillMovements ambassador programme.
The overall aim is to increase public recognition and respect for children and young people’s positive contribution and influence on society. This will challenge persistent negative stereotypes by older generations highlighted by the recent #iwillmovements report Can You See Us which concluded that "Older age groups (25+) are less likely to view young people positively. Words commonly used to describe young people include ‘naïve’, ‘sensitive’, ‘entitled’, ‘lazy’ and ‘rude’.
I believe that if positive images of young people are more widely recognised and reported by the media, they will attract more attention to the campaigns and causes they support and stimulating a reaction from decision makers to address their priorities, hopes and fears – even to the extent of co-producing policies.
This is why I was delighted to accept an invitation to become an ambassador for the The British Citizen youth Awards (BCyA) and add them to my list of recommended initiatives. Launched in 2016 by the charity the British Citizen Awards, they are also known as the ‘people’s honours’ because they are also open to public nominations, receive blue ribboned medals and can use the post-nominals ‘BCyA’. Bill Curtys (16) a former member of Youth Parliament and #iwill ambassador, from Manchester was recognised for promoting #youngvoice, and others for championing or fundraising for a range of causes, many from personal experience – parents’ suicide support, families of bereaved, disability inclusion and anti-bullying. Only 24 medals are awarded annually, and their stories are published in a permanent Roll of Honour. These case studies prompted me to start researching and publishing young recipients of the royal New Years and Birthday Honours on the YVH website, to inspire others to nominate more children and young people for the range of awards.
As we approach the end of the year it’s perhaps a good time for us all to look back and not just remember its exceptional children and young people from 2024, but to consider nominating them for recognition in 2025. By lifting up these individuals to public acclaim we challenge negative perceptions about youth, inspire others to follow, and invest in a new wave of young leaders going forward. In the meantime, perhaps it's time someone nominated Children and Young People Now for the role they play in recognition of our sectors unsung heroes!
James Cathcart is director of Young Voices Heard and the Campaign4YouthRecognition.
*The CYP Now Awards 2024 took place on Thursday 28 November.
