About #iwill
Young people aren’t just the leaders of tomorrow. They have the energy, skills and ideas to change society and the environment for the better today. Yet society often fails to listen to young people’s views or recognise their ability to make a positive difference.
That’s why organisation leaders and young people are working together as the #iwill movement to achieve their shared vision: ‘all children and young people should be supported and empowered to make a positive difference on the issues that affect their lives, their communities, and broader society’
Vision and Values
Uniting the #iwill movement is a shared belief that
all children and young people should be supported and empowered to make a positive difference on the issues that affect their lives, their communities, and broader society.
All organisations and young people supporting the movement share these values:
- Empowering: Young people are treated as equal partners in tackling common challenges. We listen to them, work with them and give them the space to create and lead change.
- Collaborative: To achieve our shared vision and goals, we need to work together. #iwill stimulates collective action by connecting organisations, policymakers and young people to collaborate and create change.
- Challenging: We push for meaningful change to culture, policy and practice so that more young people, particularly from low income and ethnic minority backgrounds, are supported and empowered to make a positive difference.
- Inclusive: We embrace, champion and celebrate young people, individuals and organisations from a diverse range of backgrounds and beliefs to co-create solutions and access benefits of youth social action. We stand united against all forms of discrimination based on an individual’s race, ethnicity, class, beliefs, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, health or any other status.
- Independent: #iwill belongs to everybody. It remains independent of the interests of any single organisation, political party, funding source, form of youth social action or cause.
Impact Goals
The organisations and young people that make up the movement are collaborating to achieve this vision, and drive progress towards four impact goals:
- More children and young people, especially from low income and ethnic minority backgrounds, take social action that embodies the six quality principles
- More children and young people, especially from low income and ethnic minority backgrounds, shape decisions in the public, private and voluntary sectors
- More organisations and institutions demonstrably take action to grow the power of youth
- There is a shift in public perception on the role children and young people can play in society
The Stories of #iwill
The Growth of a Movement
When the campaign launched in late 2013, with 50 partners and 50 young people, we never imagined #iwill would bring together the depth, diversity and scale of partnerships. From primary schools and a Clinical Commissioning Group in Barrow-in-Furness to FTSE companies and Government departments, the #iwill movement has gone from strength to strength.
However, challenges lie ahead. Poverty, the climate emergency, worsening mental health and wellbeing, social and economic inequalities, racial injustice. Challenges that existed before the Covid-19 crisis have been further exacerbated by the global pandemic – and the future has never felt more uncertain.
Realising the Power of Youth Together let’s you explore the journey of #iwill since it’s origin in 2013. It looks back at #iwill’s successes and sets out why we must do more to empower young people to lead change, if we are to tackle the biggest issues we face as a society.
How #iwill Works
Signing-up to the Power of Youth Charter has to be more than a token gesture. Organisations make a public commitment and take meaningful action to support more children and young people to be active citizens. Charter signatories outline specific actions that they will take in order to deliver on the five key commitments within the Charter.
The #iwill Partnership
The #iwill movement’s collective efforts will be guided by groups of committed leaders from different sectors and nations. These sector and devolved nation groups have been running since 2014 and will continue to drive the power of youth. Their purpose was renewed in 2020 and their commitment to sharing the seats of power equally with young people demonstrated by their change in membership – now 50% young people, with a co-chair aged 25 or under.
The co-chairs of these sector and devolved nation groups will come together to form the #iwill Partnership – a new, UK-wide, cross-sector group, co-chaired by an influential leader and young person. The #iwill Partnership will ensure the whole movement collaboratively drives progress on the 4 #iwill impact goals, upholds the values of #iwill and supports collaboration to achieve our shared vision.
