Jack Rowley Vice Chair BYC speech Positive for Youth Summit

Young people’s perspective

“Firstly may I thank the organisers – the Department for Education and the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services for inviting me to be Co Chair and to say a few words of introduction from a youth perspective at the opening of this Positive for Youth summit. I particularly wanted to acknowledge Susanne's efforts, which we support, in making this event happen and we are delighted that it will include a range of Government departments which affect the lives and wellbeing of young people.

But before I go into any of the issues can I add a particular welcome to those of you who are young representatives, or users of youth services, here today.

Whether you’re here as local youth councillors from local authorities, members of youth parliaments, or you have been nominated by your youth charity to attend, you all bring a unique and valuable perspective as equal stakeholders to the table. My role here is to present one voice, no more or less important than the voice of any other young person, whether they are here today or not.

So, I would urge you to take an active and vocal part in the discussions today and to use every opportunity to ask questions and contribute to the debate, but to also put forward your proposals, solutions and priorities for the scarce resources that we must share, and beyond that to continue the dialogue and hold local decision makers to account when you return back home.

The Youth View

So, I've been asked to say something about the youth perspective, what is our “take” on the world in which we are growing up?

When I turn on the TV I see a world overseas where young people are challenging the established regimes so that they can have more of a say in the choices made about the distribution of wealth, of opportunity and of prosperity in those countries.

In this country where we have a long history of democratic Government and a recent history of youth participation through youth councils, mayors and youth parliaments, the young generation is very aware that there are limitations to our influence. -  and that having a say – of itself -  does not protect young people from the consequences of recession, youth unemployment, rising student debt and from a general anxiety about what the future holds.

Our perspective depends on where we are standing,

…on how old we are, where we are from, the needs we have, the barriers we face, and the values and motivation we have -  to want to make a difference - not only in our own lives but  in the communities in which we live.

This uncertainty started with the recession, followed quickly by the changes introduced by a new Government, and the uncertainty associated with the consequences of changes being introduced. There is much talk about hope springing from the Big Society – which could mean more of a say for young people in local communities – but whilst we would welcome that opportunity -  we are more interested in that it will result in not a Bigger Society, but a Better Society.

So .. The Future

We at The British Youth Council have a vision of a world in which young people are respected and are able to influence and inform decisions that affect their lives or on which they have strong opinions.

And I know all of us in this room have a shared agenda – where we want to live and grow up in safe, healthy, secure world, free from poverty and prejudice – with good educational opportunities and equality of opportunity – so that in the future we can have a good job, a family and a future for our children – not so different from everyone else, not suffering the consequences of an older generations mistakes, but given more of a say, a stake, in shaping that future as we go along.

I've been reviewing what young people have been telling us over the last year, at our conferences, through our surveys, and comparing these with the views of other young leaders who joined me at a special Youth Summit with the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and more recently with other young representatives from the voluntary sector at a Roundtable meeting with Childrens Minister - Tim Loughton MP

And I'd like to draw attention to some of the issues they raised:

We are concerned about the  current situation for individual young people and for the communities and world we live in and what the future holds for us.

Specifically

Firstly

1. Cuts to youth services – we are worried both from a personal point of view and on behalf of society as a whole.

What will these cuts mean for this young generation making the transition to adulthood? Young people are telling us they are worried about the lack of things to do, places to go, and loss of support, particularly in rural areas. They are not always consulted about these cuts, and they are mostly powerless to stop them. They don’t have the vote and in a world where ‘we are all in this together’ young people are finding they are at the back of a long queue of more powerful lobbies.  And to date the question has been – what and where can we make savings in our country, in our community.

We say – “what will be the cost be in the longer-term." We say “Are cuts this deep and this fast giving us a chance?"

Secondly

2. Our education – there is need to ensure our curriculum includes better sex education, and better citizenship education, as well as policies to deal with problems associated with bullying, and poor  literacy and numeracy. We need good information, advice and guidance in all these areas as well as good advice about our future careers.  To the list of curriculum topics we might also usefully add –“good financial education and debt management” as those are skills that are going to become more the norm for the next generation if we are to pay for our education as well as our housing and living costs. Interestingly if previous generations had more lessons in debt prevention and management we perhaps wouldn’t be in the situation we are in? Yet we are still teaching our young people through the same institutions of further and higher education and in the same ways that its ok to have something now, and to pay for it tomorrow.

Thirdly – our training and employment

3. We are very worried about rising debts, loss of EMA and disproportionate rates of unemployment How will we get experience and opportunity to demonstrate and prove ourselves? How is it fair that when we get into work the minimum wage is less for young people? When the national default retirement age was recently revoked, we were promised that measures would be put in place for young people, to help us in employment, where and what are these? We hear of enterprise and the importance of entrepreneurs in our nation’s future, but how are we finding, nurturing and supporting our next generation of entrepreneurs?

Fourthly – our health

4. We are concerned about our mental health in particular and whilst there has been some recent investment in this area this generation is perhaps facing greater pressure and uncertainly that will lead to greater mental and physical health problems. How are we support young people as they transition to adulthood?

Fifthly - our communities

5. We are concerned about the cost of transport – especially to those of us in rural areas. We would like to see more subsidized transport that allows us to access work and leisure more easily. Staffordshire Council recently made a fantastic announcement in keeping subsidized transport for young people, will others follow suit? It is obvious the money is there, but is the willingness?

Lastly – in our world

6. We are now part of a global society – the next generation in this country is much more connected to other young people around the world – than previous generations - on Facebook, and on the internet. And we see the consequences of climate change and war and we are concerned.

These are just a few of the issues – there are many more which I'm sure you will raise in your discussions as the day progresses.

So that is what it is looking like to us – and I don’t apologise if it makes gloomy listening – but it is tough out there. Despite this though young people still do great things in their lives, passing exams, getting jobs, raising families of their own, many are volunteering to help their communities and many are having their say to shape it for the better. These are the positive stories and today is about being positive for youth in partnership.

So Id like to sum up briefly on how best to involve young people to get the best out of that new partnership

• Avoid tokenism and photo opportunity – give us time, brief us and let us work together on the agenda. Let us work on it nationally and let us work on it locally.

• Listen and respond to the issues that young people themselves have raised

• Consult – ask us what we think are the solutions and ask for our input into proposals – and more importantly into the design and implementation of these.

• Empower young people – by giving them votes on issues, especially supporting and listening to bodies that have peer nominated or elected representatives. Don’t just ask us and then continue on the same path regardless, let us have a real say.

• Reserve places for young people in decision making bodies – and not just on youth issues, but on the issues we care about..

• Support infrastructure and embed good practice that will enable a level playing field of participation – so that everyone has an opportunity – no matter what their barriers – to have a say if they want. Involvement and participation does not just happen, but a fully supported infrastructure has benefits in the long run and from our research indicates there have been improved services, improved results and saved money in the areas where youth participation is fully bought into.

• Give feedback – so that young people know what it is they have influenced and why decisions have been made.

• Set a benchmark of the above and reward good practice.

Finally – I'd like to acknowledge the commitment of this Minister to the principle of youth participation. His speeches and statements have made it clear he supports young people's right to speak up – and indeed many have done so locally and nationally and I hope those views will be taken seriously. This is rare in Government and I hope that it is something, after today, which will be common practice shared across Government. And I would echo comments made not to simply involve us at the last stage when decisions have been made and we have a choice between bad or worse – invite us in early, make it meaningful and let us join the debate from the off. I would caution that such participation costs – whether its local or national, if it's to avoid tokenism and photo-opportunity. But we would suggest that such investment represents good value for money, as I have pointed out.

For example I would just love it if there was a Big Society fund (or as perhaps a Better Society fund) that young people administer on behalf of their communities – (perhaps in partnership with the older generations who also feel marginalised ) – to distribute community grants, by young people for communities, for activities that enrich local lives.

So those are a few of my thoughts from a youth perspective, I look forward to hearing all your thoughts as the day progresses and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Thank you