Youth Engagement Joint Summit Agenda 2024

Meopham Parish Council: Clerking Forward, Inspiring the Next Generation in Local Governance
Shaun Fishenden (Clerk) & George Duffort (Deputy Clerk), Meopham Parish Council

Following on from their SLCC podcast, Shaun and George will focus on why parish and town councils should be welcoming young people to fill their officer roles, how they can achieve this and support younger officers with their professional development within the sector. Together they’ll share their own experiences as young officers in the context of wider issues such as civility and respect, localism and sector innovation.

PLANED CWBR Youth
Tom Moses, Project Coordinator, CWBR Youth

Young people are the future of both our communities and our democracy, yet levels of democratic engagement and participation are in decline and opportunities for engagement and improving their life-chances are often missed. PLANED’s CWBR Youth project, supported by the Lottery Community fund and Welsh Government Democratic Engagement fund, has worked to support Town and Community Councils in Pembrokeshire to better involve young people in their work, with particular focus on older young people 16-25. The project has successfully increased meaningful engagement in the majority of participating Councils, and is now working with key partners to implement lasting change that will benefit local young people and their communities moving forward.

Give An X About Our Future
Dan Lawes, Head of Partnerships, My Life, My Say

What happens in the election will have lasting implications for the lives of those aged 18-24, and yet they are some of the most underrepresented among voters. We’ll hear from one of the UK’s leading Get Out the Vote campaigners, Dan Lawes from My Life My Say, who has worked to change that picture through the groundbreaking young-people-powered campaign Give An X. Harnessing the power of influencers, social media, digital and partnerships more broadly, he’ll share their innovative approach to youth democratic engagement, learnings so far and help us get motivated to ensure maximum participation post-election.

What Works in youth provision to Prevent Children Becoming Involved in Violence
Caleb Jackson, Head of Change for Youth Sector, Youth Endowement Fund

In the session you’ll hear:

• About the work of Youth Endowment Fund
• Share an overview of what we know to date about youth sector and evidence
• Get the chance to hear about the Youth Endowment Fund Toolkit, exploring evidence about the effectiveness of various approaches to preventing children and young people becoming involved in violence.
• Does any of the following approaches reduce violence? CCTV,  knife surrender schemes, street lighting, mentoring
• Hear more about how we hope to work with local councillors who commission youth provision or have a responsibility for community safety (thinking about young people)
• Share more information about our free deep dive session focused on local councillors and local officers