London Youth

Yesterday, we celebrated #YouthWorkWeek at the Creative Connections Network with over 40 brilliant young leaders, youth practitioners, academics and others from the sector.      We had conversations about the importance of using creative tools in research and evaluation with young people, how robust and meaningful these tools are, and how well they are suited to work in our sector. Creative tools fit so well with youth work and are suitable for people with different life experiences and approaches and with different abilities.         We also had workshops to experience some of these tools ourselves! Thank you to:  ✨ The wonderful peer researchers on #AuthoringOurOwnStories and Sandra Vacciana of Partnership for Young London for sharing their skills and research experience. ✨ The inventive Dr Nicole Brown of London South Bank University for showing #Photovoice as a tool we can all so easily use. ✨ The resourceful Prof Kaz Stuart for the Lego session and helping us understand how to analyse the creations. ✨ The inspiring Yulya Jessica Ramos Romo for guiding us to look differently at Storytelling and how to use this most common human communication in research.    It took a whole village to make this event happen: London Youth’s very own Rebekah Keane and Maya Reggev who both led the network, Taoreed Lawal did a great job behind the scenes and up on the stage. We developed the content together with the young leaders and Sandra from PYL and our generous host Prof Nicola Martin and her team at LSBU. This joint Arts & Culture + Regional Impact Network was delivered with support from Converse and YMCA George Williams College.     Would you be interested in training and other capacity building activities around creative tools, for both programmes with young people and for research and evaluation with them? Let us know in the comments.

We continue to celebrate #YouthWorkWeek with our members and partners.     This morning, we hosted our Business Breakfast focused on highlighting the challenges youth practitioners face and the critical support they get from us to deliver positive futures for young people.        We were joined by our Senior Programme Manager, Louise McNestrie, and Membership Engagement Manager, Heather Cowan, who gave insight into the ways we support youth practitioners across the capital. We also heard directly from youth practitioners from our membership, Elijah O. Williams from Spark Inside, Charline king from Rathbone Society, and Elise Pacquette from Fun Pact in a Q&A panel discussion.      Thank you to WongDoody for hosting at their Old Street office and to our partners and friends for joining us and participating in the discussion – The Girdlers Company, Howden, LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group), Oliver Wyman, PKF Littlejohn, JLL, Residential Development Agents Society (RDAS) and Infosys.     If you would like to find out how your business can support our mission or you’re interested in attending our next Business Breakfast, get in touch with us at [email protected]    #youthworkchangeslives 

🚀 Today, we relaunched the Young People Affected by Violence Network with youth practitioners from across London. It was an insightful session, featuring talks from Richard Roach and AbdulKarim Abdullah. 🎶 Richard Roach shared valuable insights on how practitioners can use music as a powerful tool for engagement with young people while ensuring their safety around lyrical content. 💡 AbdulKarim educated us on the critical importance of staying informed about financial exploitation in young people's lives. A huge thank you to everyone who joined and contributed to such an important conversation. Together, we can create safer, more supportive environments for young people affected by violence. #YoungPeople #ViolencePrevention #CommunitySupport #MusicForChange #FinancialExploitation #YouthWork #LondonCommunity #PractitionersForChange

Youth work transforms lives. ✨    This #YouthWorkWeek, we say a heartfelt thank you and celebrate all youth practitioners for your tireless commitment, dedication and passion you bring to your roles as you deliver positive futures for young people.    Youth work happening every day across our city enables young people to thrive and helps them to reconnect with each other and their community. And youth practitioners play a pivotal role in shaping the lives of young people, offering support, guidance, and inspiration that can lead to life-changing opportunities. Thank you for being part of our inspiring community!   #youthworkchangeslives Woodrow High House - Outdoor Learning & Leisure Centre Hindleap Warren Outdoor Centre National Youth Agency

Young people need the safety of local youth spaces, the kindness of trusted adults, and the inspiration and support provided by programmes that meet their needs. 🤝Together, as members of London's Violence Reduction Unit Charities Network, we're working to ensure young Londoners are safe and able to thrive. 🧡We celebrate, champion and support youth work and the role that trusted adults play in the lives of young people. #YouthWorkWeek St Giles | Dallaglio RugbyWorks | Barnardo's | Catch22 | Advance Charity | Leap Confronting Conflict | Fight for Peace | Chance UK | The King's Trust | Redthread | Safer London

Youth services were notably absent in Labour’s first fiscal statement “to rebuild Britain”. We await progress on a National Youth Strategy following a recent pledge by the DCMS Secretary of State, Lisa Nandy. Our Chief Executive, Pauline Daniyan commented: “The Chancellor’s Budget was a missed opportunity to support the vital youth infrastructure that reaches hundreds of thousands of young people across the UK.   Community grassroots organisations continue to face a financial cliffedge resulting from longstanding funding cuts, exacerbated by a cost-of-living crisis.  Whilst we welcome the Chancellor’s support for children and young people, there does need to be a clear financial commitment to sustain the youth sector in the 2025 Spending Review." Read key announcements affecting children and young people in our latest article: https://lnkd.in/eBwcrJ28 #budget #youthsector

A huge thank you to our partners, KFH and Clink Hostels, for their support in the past weeks! 💜   Colleagues at Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward have been very busy organising events, including a golf day, pub quiz and football tournament, raising over £2.5K collectively. We can't say thank you enough!    Volunteers from Clink Hostels supported our Ice Skating Festival today. We appreciate all your help in delivering our sports events!   We look forward to continuing to work with our corporate partners to provide support to young Londoners and the youth sector. If you would like to become our corporate partner, find out more at https://lnkd.in/eAtxjdHR and get in touch!  #charity #youthworkchangeslives

This #NationalMentoringDay, we celebrate the youth professionals who have committed to developing their practice to ensure young people have access to high-quality mentoring. At London Youth, we believe that whether they’re volunteering or paid, all youth professionals are mentors, making a difference to the lives of young Londoners every day. Since January 2023, more than 200 youth organisations have been part of the Mentoring Support Programme. Delivered in partnership with LifeLine Projects and funded by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan New Deal for Young People, Mentoring Support is available to any organisation dedicated to mentoring young people in London. It sits alongside the Mentoring Quality Framework, a self-assessment tool to help organisations that provide mentoring for young people to reflect and develop their practice. Learn more about our Mentoring Support Programme: https://lnkd.in/deQUpirz Want to meet other practitioners who are mentoring? Join our next Community Mentoring Network on the 21st of November to learn more about the support available to improve youth mentoring programmes and hear from our speakers, including Fitzrovia Youth in Action, Global Girl Media UK and National Mentoring Day. Register now: https://lnkd.in/e5TWRRiT #mentoring #supportingyoungpeople #youthworkchangeslives

Our Employability Networks bring together employers, training providers and youth organisations to engage in insightful discussions, workshops and networking to enhance collaboration and boost employability outcomes for young people. Yesterday's network focused on 'Preparing for a #GenZ Workforce'.   One of our member youth organisations, Beyond the Bias kicked off the day by sharing what they do best as a youth organisation to support Gen Z, including insights into evolving job market trends, in-demand workforce skills and the importance of collaboration among stakeholders.   Our Q&A panel discussion with Temisan Williams from London Borough of Waltham Forest, Kate Banson and Aisling Lavagna Hart from our corporate partner, Howden and Ade Otunbowale from Speakers for Schools focused on how they support young people's transition to employment and recruitment processes.   Overbury, London & Partners, Grow London Local, Generation UK & Ireland and Ada, the National College for Digital Skills each gave a brief presentation highlighting their programmes, apprenticeships and services and their impact.   We ended the day with our Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Clare MacNamara giving an overview of the current policies and developments around youth employment.   A huge thank you to our members and speakers and to all attendees for joining us! #employability #network #youthemployment

Can you name a Black Englishman who climbed Everest? Deon B., one of our #BornAmbitious Ambassadors, is hoping to reach the world’s highest peak in 2025. Deon is a champion of outdoor education to inspire the younger generation. He found outdoor adventure at a time of need. While struggling through a mental health crisis, he discovered a support group focused on the outdoors. Through hiking, he realised the power of adventuring in nature to help him through difficult times. Now, he wants to share this message. This is why he founded the True North Project, an initiative designed to empower young people to find themselves through the outdoors. This #BlackHistoryMonth, we interviewed Deon to discuss the importance of access to outdoor learning, its impact on young people’s mental health, and why representation matters. Read our latest blog to find out more: https://lnkd.in/eFBtEmeu Woodrow High House - Outdoor Learning & Leisure Centre | Hindleap Warren Outdoor Centre