Young people find their voice

Young people from across Buckinghamshire have been speaking out about things that really matter to them at a special event held on Wednesday (8 November) at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury.

The Youth Voice event, held during Youth Work Week, was hosted by Buckinghamshire County Council’s Youth Service. It is the tenth time the event has taken place and up for discussion this time were topics ranging from challenging discrimination to post-16 education and feeling safe.

To kick off the event the 70young people were treated to an inspiring talk by the keynote speaker, youth activist Lisa Lovell. They were then coached through activities to gather their thoughts, views and opinions which were then formed into questions to put to the professional panel of guests from Buckinghamshire County Council and partner organisations.

The panel consisted of: Councillor Noel Brown, Cabinet Member for Communities and Youth Engagement, Tolis Vouyioukas, Executive Director of Children’s Services, Phil Dart, Programme Director, Change for Children, Paul Guenault, Director of Education at Bucks Learning Trust, James Fowler, Acting Youth Service Manager, Carol Stottor, Equalities Officer, Donna Clarke, Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Sadia Hussain, Wycombe Youth Action Manager.

The aim of the event was to engage young people in getting their voices heard and inspiring change locally. Following on from the event in the Waterside Theatre an action plan will be developed which will be driven forward by a steering group of young people.

Speaking after the event, Noel Brown, Cabinet Member for Communities and Youth Engagement said: “It was wonderful to see so many young people truly engaging with us and talking about what really matters to them. Events like this show that young people feel passionate about a whole range of subjects and are keen to get their voices heard. They want to inspire change and improvements for all young people in Bucks.”

For more information on future events or to get involved in the steering groups contact youthspacebucks@buckscc.gov.uk