27 Jan 2021
The Power of Youth Explained is a six-part series of short interactive, digital articles curated by #iwill partner organisations and Ambassadors. The series aims to bring together research, experiences and resources that not only develops the readers’ knowledge and understanding of youth social action, but helps them turn it into action. They are also designed to help your organisation put your Power of Youth Charter commitments into practice.
ARTICLE 3:
How can you support youth voice and leadership within your organisation?
A LETTER FROM THE CURATORS:
Hello and welcome to this article on how to support youth voice and leadership in your organisation.
If you want to take youth social action to the next level and bring a fresh perspective to your organisation then putting young people in the lead is the way to go! This can range from young people leading the projects they take part in, to setting up Youth Forums to recruiting young Trustees. The curators – Young Voices Heard, Groundwork, Girl Guiding and #iwill Ambassadors Gabby and Lauren
– bring you very different perspectives on youth voice and leadership and top tips on how to get started whatever sector you work in. And it doesn’t end here – as this article is by no means exhaustive of all the highlights and benefits of youth participation, please feel free to get in touch with any of us for a further exploration, advice or mentoring on this topic.
WHY DO WE NEED YOUTH VOICE?
The vast majority of young people (aged 10-20) care about making the world a better place (88%) (National Youth Social Action Survey 2019)
Only 1 in 5 young People of Colour believe British culture treats all cultures equally (Time And Time Again, Beatfreeks 2021).
Less than 3% of charity trustees are under 30 (Charity Commission).
9 in 10 young people feel left out of the conversation on the COVID-19 pandemic. (British Science Association).
The Listening Fund Final Learning Report by the Centre for Youth Impact found that dedicated support (including from funding organisations) for organisations to listen to young people, “can result in significant positive change to organisational delivery and strategy, with an improved focus on and response to young people’s needs”.
A PERSPECTIVE: Nancy Doyle-Hall, Executive Director, Virgin Money Foundation
Over the last few years the Virgin Money Foundation has incorporated young people in our decision making regarding grant awards and in the design of grants programmes for young people. A decision initially made because we felt it was the right thing to do, has resulted in unexpected benefits. I have come to realise that this act of inclusion is not simply about giving young people a voice and experiences that will benefit them as they develop their own ways of leading, it is about improving our decision making, bringing insights we would otherwise not gain, shining a light on pre-suppositions we unwittingly hold and ultimately improving the work we do.
This time last year the Virgin Money Foundation decided it wanted to create a Youth Fellowship Programme – a six month programme of leadership training, mentoring, peer support, idea development, travel, research and implementation. We worked with partner organisation Northern Soul to sketch out the idea, excitement built.

TOP TIPS
Here are ten top tips for embedding youth voice in your organisation, pulled together by Young Voices Heard.
ACROSS THE SECTORS
Examples of high quality youth social action in action across sectors: