Delivering the influence strand | Youth group

Key topics

• Local, national, and international issues.
• How change happens and the role of changemakers.
• Campaign methods and routes to influence.
• Planning and delivering campaigns and social action.

Why the Influence strand matters in youth settings

Campaigning and social action can help young people to understand that democratic participation goes beyond voting and that they can influence change on issues that matter to them. Youth spaces are uniquely placed to help young people move beyond learning about democracy to actively participating in it.

Through safe environments and practical and project-based activities, practitioners can respond flexibly to young people’s interests and experiences. Opportunities for social action can develop naturally through conversation, allowing young people to explore issues that matter to them, find their voice, learn through doing, work together and see the real-world impact of their actions.

There can be challenges to implementing this strand within youth spaces, including time and funding, as well as the risk of projects feeling tokenistic or creating unrealistic expectations of change. Meaningful participation should give young people genuine ownership, but this doesn't mean leaving them to figure everything out on their own. Practitioners should provide the structure and support and help young people develop their ideas and plan next steps to create meaningful change.

My Approach

There is no single right way to deliver social action and no two projects will look the same. The role of the practitioner is to nurture young people’s ideas and facilitate the journey, providing the tools and practical support they need while creating space for them to lead and make change.

Top tips for practitioners:

• Start by exploring what matters to young people and give them genuine ownership from the beginning - Young people are far more likely to engage when an issue connects to their lives. Resist the temptation to move straight into action. Support them to understand the issue first by exploring why it exists, who is affected, different perspectives and who has the power to influence change. From there, explore different ways of creating change, examples of campaigns and organisations already working on the issue before helping young people decide which approach best fits.
• Meet young people where they are - Respond to where the group is rather than follow a fixed programme. Adapt your role and level of support as the project develops.
• Make it challenging, but achievable - Challenge is relative. Set the level of challenge based on what will genuinely stretch the young people involved, rather than the size of the final project.
• Facilitate, don’t take over - Support young people to develop the practical skills to turn their ideas into action. Whether that's showing them how to plan a project, write an email, contact an organisation, manage a budget or prepare to speak to a decision maker. Provide the tools and support while keeping the decisions and ownership with them.
• Work with others - Explore who is already working on the issue and connect with relevant organisations, charities, community groups or services. Partner organisations can also offer knowledge and support.
• Let young people learn through doing - Projects will not always go to plan. Give them space to problem-solve and learn from their mistakes rather than stepping in too quickly.
• Celebrate throughout, not just at the end - Build regular opportunities for reflection and celebration into the journey. Recognise the small wins, confidence, skills and personal growth developed along the way, not only the final impact of the project. The development of the young person is just as important as the outcome of the project.

The #iwill six principles of quality youth social action also provide a useful framework when developing projects, encouraging social action that is youth-led, challenging, socially impactful, progressive, embedded and reflective.

If you can only do one thing…

Have young people explore the issues that matter most to them. They should think about what changes they would want to see in their community or the country and identify one action they could take to make a difference.

Where this fits into youth settings

Opportunities for campaigning and social action can grow from:

• Discussions about local or current issues. Build on the conversations you are already having with young people. Use this as the beginning, and then have young people consider what steps could be taken to address the issues they identify.
• Case studies and examples of youth-led campaigns can help young people explore how change happens and what makes action effective when time is limited.
• Where more time is available, young people can move from identifying an issue and researching it to understanding who has influence, exploring different approaches, planning and taking action.
• Existing community projects. You may not have time or the ability to design and implement a project or campaign, instead find existing projects that young people could join or take part in.
• Partnerships with local charities or community organisations. Young people should start by considering what is already being done to address issues they care about by charities or community organisations.

Key resources

If you have 30 minutes or less…

• Use the time to spark interest and help young people recognise that they already have the ability to create change.
• What matters to me or Moments of change from the At the table toolkit, The Politics Project - These activities provide a quick starting point for exploring what young people care about and how they may already be making a difference.

1 hour…

• Focus on identifying an issue young people care about.
• Mapping our community from the At the table toolkit - Combine this with What matters to me to move from individual interests to issues within the local area.
• Investigating local issues and developing speaking and listening skills, The Electoral Commission and Skating Panda - Use this resource to explore an issue already being discussed by the group.

1-3 hours…

• Young people can explore an issue, such as the low numbers of young people registered to vote, and discuss how they could affect change around that issue.
• Welcome to Your Vote, The Electoral Commission – Though designed more for school or college settings, workshops 4 and 5 can be adapted for youth spaces. These resources support young people to develop a voter registration campaign for young people.

4-6 hours…

• Build on the activities above to support young people in exploring an issue they care about in detail and begin making links between issues and how change can happen.
• Change your local area, The Electoral Commission and Simple Politics - This resource will support young people to apply what they have learned about democratic structures and the role of elected representatives to think about their local area and how it can be improved.
• Young people can then turn their ideas for change into a practical social action or campaign project.
• EmpowHER social action toolkit, #iwill - Use this toolkit to explore different forms action can take and what other young people have achieved.
• How to create a government petition, #iwill - Introduce this guide once they have chosen their idea. The project does not need to be completed within 4-6 hours. This can provide the foundations, skills and plan they need to continue it afterwards.

6 hours plus…

• Support young people to develop and deliver their own youth-led social action or campaigning project.
• Draw on the activities and resources above as the project develops, responding to what the group needs rather than following a fixed programme.
• Young people may need to develop practical skills, work with local organisations or charities, engage decision-makers, communicate their ideas or adapt their plans.
• Choices, choices, The Electoral Commission and Simple Politics - Use this resource, along with the ‘Change your local area’ resource to encourage young people to critically reflect and work collaboratively to solve problems and make decisions in a democracy.

Considerations for learners with additional needs

• Build on individual strengths and provide different ways for young people to contribute to the project.
• Break projects into smaller, manageable steps with clear roles and expectations.
• Adapt activities and levels of support to individual needs, recognising that meaningful participation will look different for each young person.
• Focus on meaningful roles rather than expecting every young person to complete the same tasks.
• Provide case studies or examples of other campaigns or projects, use images or videos.
• Provide visuals, graphic organizers, and progress reports for each stage of the campaign of social action project.
• Use structured planning tools: visual action plans, checklists, timelines and graphic organisers can help learners organise a campaign and track progress.

The #iwill top tips on how to make youth social action more accessible provides further practical guidance for making social action accessible to more young people.