Speaking at the English National Youth Arts Network's conference last week, Terry Begley, the principal youth officer at North Yorkshire County Council, said young people needed to be encouraged to branch out.
"We're often told that we have to stop young people from taking risks," he says. "No we don't - we should encourage them to take appropriate risks. That's what good youth work is about."
Begley also spoke out about meaningless consultation with young people about their services. "Young people are getting fed up with consulting because they're doing it to death."
Viv McKee, director of policy and development at The National Youth Agency, echoed Begley's comments. She said communicating with young people was pivotal when creating services for them, adding that organisations need to "make sure it's embedded in the system".
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