Power of Youth: How we’re supporting young people to take social action
Global Action Plan’s work with young people, via our Generation Action movement, aims to be a driving force for change in the way that education is designed and delivered.
This Power of Youth Day (6 June) we’re reflecting on the impact of Transform Our World - our programme of work promoting youth social action, which includes regional youth engagement officers working directly with young people in schools. It also offers a range of online resources for environmental educators, as well as online events and a regular newsletter.
Transform Our World is funded by the #iwill Fund, which is made possible thanks to £66 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities. In our work funded by #iwill Fund during 2021-22, Transform Our World worked directly with 1128 students to support their design and delivery of 151 youth social action projects across England. Through these projects, ranging in focus, from gardening to human rights, to animal welfare and youth mental health, 21309 young people have been engaged in meaningful youth social action.
A member of staff at St Francis RC Primary School in Manchester reflected on the projects undertaken by their students, stating:
“Through this project, they’ve ensured that everybody’s voice is listened to, and those children have been able to make a difference.”
A student at Malmesbury Primary School in London, reflected on their involvement in the project:
“I feel happy because the project went well and I feel everyone has a role to do. I feel confident and now I know more people. I think more people should come to help because if there’s only a little bit of people helping, then we can’t help the whole entire environment."
Dr Morgan Phillips, Global Action Plan’s Head of Youth Engagement said:
“The best way to learn how to act, is to act. The best way to discover the power that actions can have, is to act. The best way to show you care, is to act. Global Action Plan wants all young people to leave school prepared to take collective action for the good of people and planet. This is why youth social action is central to everything we do. Generation Action is emerging, our job is to help them along the way, the power of youth is extraordinary.”
Watch how students from St Francis School in Greater Manchester are transforming our world:
Hear students Fareeha and Shiya talking about how they’ve taken social action to transform our world:
Power of Youth
Power of Youth Day (6 June) is a campaign run by the #iwill movement, celebrating youth social action.
Global Action Plan has signed up to the Power of Youth charter and is committed to:
- prioritise supporting young people to take action;
- open up our decision-making structures;
- work collaboratively with others;
- and evidence and recognise young people's impact.
Signing the Power of Youth charter is a public commitment to take meaningful action to empower more young people to be active citizens. You can sign your organisation up to the charter on the #iwill website.
Educators can visit Transform Our World here and sign up to our newsletter.