November 2024
In this blog, we want to demonstrate the importance of youth advocacy in shaping the planet’s future through our partnership with The LEGO™ Group’s Build the Change programme.
Through our work with Build the Change, we have seen firsthand that children care deeply about nature and have valuable ideas, yet their voices can be overlooked in decision-making spaces.
Research has revealed that just one in five children (22%) feel that the people who run the country listen to them, and only one in 10 teenagers (ages 12-18) feel empowered to change issues they care about. *2024 Children’s Commissioner’s Big Ambition Survey; of 253,000 under-18s.
Amplifying Youth Voice
Across two days in October, six members of our Build the Change Youth Council took on the role of ‘News Detectives’ at the Blue Earth Summit, finding out what efforts are being made to ensure their voices are included in conversations around the future of sustainability. Our talented reporters had the opportunity to engage directly with industry leaders including Deborah Meaden, Ben Goldsmith, Amber Rudd and environmentalist, Dominique Palmer.
Students, Ella and Anika kicked off the first day of the Summit with a conversation with Deborah Meaden asking how young voices are being included in her work:
“To be perfectly honest, I think you’re at the heart of everything I do. I spend as much time talking to you as I possibly can, listening to you, not just talking, much more important, listening to you”
Youth Council member Dominika, spoke to former politician Amber Rudd about motivating young people to engage in building a sustainable future:
“Try and find a local campaign and then you start to encounter what the challenges are and what the solutions might be. It’s a good place to start.
“we’ve only got as far at the moment of listening to the people who are at work, so I better make a note to make sure that we do better at listening to young people as well. ”
Ben Goldsmith, financier and environmentalist also spoke with our youth reporters about the importance of including young people in decision-making:
“I’ve set up something called the Iris Prize which finds 14 to 24-year-olds around the world who are doing really amazing things in their community to restore nature and improve sustainability. So some of the best things that ever happened in the world happened because young people got mobilised.”
Climate activist Dominique Palmer shared with our reporters how she is inspiring the next generation of eco-enthusiasts:
“It’s really important to me that young people are listened to. One thing I do is create spaces for young people to come together and to talk about how they feel about the environment. Bringing young people together so they have a space to talk about things is really important.”
A Seat at The Table
On the Future of Cities panel, student speaker Suniya joined industry leaders including Will Norman, Walking and Cycling Commissioner for London, Hana Sutch, Founder, Go Jauntly and Elsie Van Middelem, Founder SUGI. Suniya posted the question “Do you feel you’re doing enough to incorporate what matters most to young people”?
The question sparked discussion, with the panellists agreeing that more needs to be done to engage with young people. Will Normal replied, “We need to engage with kids far more than we are at the moment. Play is a fundamental piece of this. If it’s not fun, it won’t stick”.
Our students left the Summit feeling inspired and hopeful. Our student Emilie reflected on her experience at the summit, saying:
“The main stage was a massive room where lots of talks about environmental issues happened. I loved it there and it was so exciting! We were also taken to watch a panel about sustainable futures and cities, it was lovely and very interesting to hear this panel. Overall I had an awesome day and everyone was so nice!”
Another student, Thomas, added:
“It was an incredible day filled with inspiring people who taught me so much about sustainability. I’m extremely grateful to my geography teacher, Mrs. Matthews, who assigned the Sustainable Cities challenge for our half-term homework, and to Lego and The Day for making this amazing experience possible!”
The opportunity gave our News Detectives a platform to speak directly with key decision-makers and advocate for their role in the future of sustainability initiatives.
Join our Youth Council
If you’re curious about how your school can get involved in future Youth Council projects, contact us at buildthechange@theday.co.uk.