Kerrie Gemmell, CEO of Scout Cymru gathers young people’s views on a journey from being participation-focused to youth-led embedded. This summary and review is based on an article first published in Children and Young People Now  and is this week’s ‘Recommended Read’ because it best illustrates how youth participation can be embedded as a policy rather than a project and spells out how to do it, one of several indicators of Quality Mark practice.

“Across Wales, young people are demanding more than token gestures in the decisions that shape their futures – they want real influence, visible representation and organisations that trust them to lead with genuine responsibility.” Youth Voices: Shaping the Future of Scouting in Wales research,

The findings [of this research commissioned by ScoutsCymru “show a generation that is thoughtful, articulate and ready to lead, but still encountering systems that place limits on how far that leadership can go”. Kerrie states that the research “challenges voluntary youth organisations to move beyond participation moments and towards cultures where young people’s perspectives guide how programmes are designed, delivered and improved”.

She echoes the conclusion of many other young leaders that I have met and champions of #youtvoice that what young people want is for their participation to be valued by those listening – indeed that “decisions are made with them [yp], not for them”.  This has often been due to the lack of feedback, a common complaint from a range of initiatives at the national and local levels.

Three messages were consistent:

  1. They want to see the impact – Young people asked for clearer feedback loops when they contribute ideas or raise concerns. They want to know how their input influenced a decision and what happened next.
  2. They want responsibility that is meaningful, not symbolic – Older young people described wanting opportunities that stretch them, like running sessions, shaping local priorities or representing their area nationally.
  3. They want adults to trust them – Some expressed frustration at well-meaning adults who default to doing things themselves. Young people want space to try, to learn from mistakes and to see their choices taken seriously.”

Kerrie also highlights that young people dont just want the usual suspects to be engaged, but that their representation is supported, for example, facilitated elections, and with ongoing work to be collaborative “as equals”. Talk with us, not about us, work with us, not for us, with both sides of a structured dialogue bringing mutually complementary skills and experiences to the table.

This would be helped with more transparency about “Decision-making” with “clarity, openness and shared power”. A map of how decisions were made would help. (something staff and volunteers of all ages would benefit from)

“The research has clear implications for voluntary youth organisations in Wales and beyond. Leadership models need to shift from consultative to collaborative – young people do not want to be brought in at the end of a process. They want to be involved in designing programmes, shaping local priorities, planning events and influencing policy. This requires moving away from adult-led structures towards genuinely shared leadership”. This of course brings the additional challenge of when the adult-leading starts and the transparency of an organisations strategy and intention to establish co-production teams set up with a clear purpose. This purpose could originate in the organisations vision – or from young people themselves, which means that we might need to ask them, provide opportunities for their agenda to be tabled and led.

“We need to start by creating the conditions that make youth leadership possible, including things like:

  • flexible ways to contribute
  • clear pathways from local involvement to formal leadership roles
  • safeguarding that enables participation rather than unintentionally blocking it
  • training for young people and adults in how to lead together”.

Kerrie goes on to conclude that “Culture matters as much as structure”,  “Participation cannot be episodic” and that “Youth voice must become a norm, not a project” because its a win / win: “when young people shape decisions, participation improves,  confidence grows, programmes become more relevant. She spells out four strategic goals that organisations could do well to adopt:

  1. resourcing participation properly
  2. building youth involvement into governance
  3. recognising and rewarding youth leadership
  4. creating structures that outlast individual staff or volunteers.

How Scouts Cymru is responding

Strengthening leadership pathways – Scouts Cymru is developing clearer routes for young people to move from section roles into local, regional and national positions. This includes expanding the Area Youth Lead structure, formalising youth seats in governance and strengthening induction and training for young leaders.

Designing decision-making processes with young people – Young people are now being involved earlier in programme planning, event shaping and policy discussions. This responds directly to their request for transparency and influence over real decisions, not symbolic tasks.

Changing organisational culture – One of the strongest messages from the research – that adults should trust young people more – is being addressed through updated guidance, volunteer training and new approaches to co-leadership that support adults to step back so young people can step forward.

We’re strengthening youth leadership as a core part of Scouting and the findings reaffirm our focus on helping young people make decisions, influence change and shape their communities.

Kerrie’s final comment is a clear challenge to us all.

“The research sets a clear challenge and a real opportunity. Young people in Wales are ready to lead. They are thoughtful, ambitious and clear about the kind of organisations they want to be part of. They are calling for structures that build them in, leadership that trusts their judgment and cultures that assume they will have influence.

The question for the youth sector is no longer whether to embed youth voice, but how quickly and how boldly we are prepared to make it a reality”.

An excellent case study with evidence-based insight and practical recommendations that ScoutsCymru is committed to delivering through their action plan.

James Cathcart/Founder of Young Voices Heard.

ENDS