Young people from across the Island came together in a special Youth Voice event on Saturday 16th March. The event was developed and organised by the Isle of Wight Youth Council and Isle of Wight Youth Trust to discuss and address issues raised by young Islanders.
The group of 32 young people, comprising members of the Youth Trust’s Taskforce, Youth Council and other young people from across the Island came together at the Riverside Centre in Newport, to discuss and put their concerns and questions to a panel of local representatives.
Six topics
The six topic areas, identified by the Youth Taskforce and Youth Council covered: Mental Health services, Employment, Environment, Transport and Travel, Equality and Diversity and things for young people to do on the Island.
The topics were discussed in small groups chaired by young people, with some fun interludes and notes written to create a set of questions to put to a panel of adults towards the end of the day.
The panel
The panel comprised a selection of community representatives including: Bob Seely MP, Councillor Jonathan Bacon, Mark Hannam (Isle of Wight Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services – CAMHS) and Ian Boyd (ARC).
Vectis Radio attended to record what was happening and photos and videos of the day were taken using a new video camera bought through funding from Island Road’s charitable foundation the IW Foundation.
Savill: Really pleased to see so many young people attend
Paul Savill, Wellbeing Lead at the Isle of Wight Youth Trust said,
“As the first of these events again for many years, I was really pleased to see so many young people attend and take part with such energy and passion.
“We are still going through all the thoughts and ideas that were raised and I know all the adults who attended were impressed with the discussions that took place.”
Hardy: Our joint youth voice will go some way to helping solve problems
Benson Hardy, member of both the Youth Council and Taskforce, added,
“During the day I had the opportunity to go around and speak with some of the young people, who kindly gave up their Saturday to attend.
“They all seemed so grateful for the opportunity to take part in an event which had youth voice at its very centre.
“Many organisations that both the Youth Trust and Youth Council have spoken to wish to better understand the views and perspectives of young people, instead of making assumptions which don’t truly reflect their opinions.
“I believe that our joint youth voice will go some way to help this problem, I also hope that it will also create a greater, Island wide, support for youth voice.”
Seely: Everyone’s voice in society should be heard
Bob Seely MP said,
“Everyone’s voice in society should be heard, and that includes young people.
“Thank you to everyone who attended the event and contributed. I look forward to continuing to work with the Youth Trust and Youth Council to deliver a better future for young people on the Island.”
Find out more
The IW Youth Trust is planning to make the event a regular occurrence and is planning a similar event for October 2024.
You can find out what else is happening at the charity via their recently refreshed website or follow them on Facebook or Instagram.
News shared by Nat on behalf of Isle of Wight Youth Trust. Ed
