Young people lead voluntary sector conference
Young people’s participation in Voluntary youth services in Warwickshire was the focus of an annual conference lead by young people and youth leaders.
Representatives from a number of organisations including Girlguiding, Relate, WREP (Warwickshire Race Equality Partnership), WAYC and Warwickshire Young Carers took part in the ‘Food for Thought’ conference in association with WCVYS.
Young people had an active role in the planning and delivery of workshops, aiming to find out thoughts about how young people are involved in all aspects of the planning, delivery and evaluation of the voluntary youth sector.
Comments from delegates included that the ‘voluntary sector is really engaging with young people…’ and ‘…organisations are working in partnership and sharing good practice’.
They also felt that organisations that were ‘open and welcoming encouraged diversity’.
Helen Smith, Development worker at Warwickshire Children and Voluntary Youth Services, said: “It is really important to involve young people in ‘Food for Thought’ because they are the focus of what we are trying to achieve.
“Young people got the chance to work with voluntary sector professionals to ensure they stay at the forefront of the county-wide agenda and have their say about future services.”
The focus of WCVYS – which works closely with Warwickshire County Council’s Integrated Youth Support Services – is to support voluntary organisations that help children and young people find ‘somewhere to go, something to do and someone to listen’.
The charity achieves this through strong links with over 40 organisations, 400 groups and over 20,000 children and young people, and 2,000 workers in Warwickshire.
For more information about Warwickshire Children and Voluntary Youth Services, visit http://www.warkscvys.org.uk.