Making Way For Young Voices

When explaining the work we do at WriteUnite people have often said ‘Ah great, you’re an organisation that helps young people to find their voice?’ And although this can sometimes be true, for most of the young people we work with, WriteUnite is not about finding their voice but more about finding a way to be heard.

Ever since I was 16, it’s been a frustrating observation that young people don’t have the opportunities for their opinions and ideas to shape the world around them, or they just aren’t taken seriously. And that’s why our mission at WriteUnite is to provide platforms where young people can be an inspiration, a source of knowledge and input into decisions. We started with the first WriteUnite book and we’re continually evolving to get our books and the opinions of young people in front of people – including other young people, educators, activists, scientists and politicians.

WriteUnite is yet to do a specific advocacy campaign, but it’s an area we’re always watching to see how other organisations support the voices of young people in politics. We get so many submissions from young people that politicians need to hear and act on. Half of the people on our planet are 30 or younger, and this is expected to reach 57% by the end of 2030. Yet the voices of young people under 30 are amongst the least represented in political systems around the world.

So, I was interested this month to read about the BeSeenBeHeard campaign. The campaign has been launched by the United Nations and the Body Shop to advocate for a future that recognises young people’s political participation as a driving force for positive change. It has been launched with a report outlining how young people can better engage in decision making in more than 75 countries around the world where the researchers have spoken to young people (1).

The research found 67% of people believe in a better future, with 15 to 17 year-olds being the most optimistic about this. And that despite the barriers, young people are continually working to raise their voices on the issues they care about – youth political apathy is a myth. You only have to flick through the pages of our latest book Visions of the Future to see that young people care deeply and are extremely positive about the future.

Yet the research also found that 76% of under 30 year olds think politicians don’t listen to young people. This feeling was particularly acute in South Africa (90%), Spain (80%), and the UK (80%).

The BeSeenBeHeard campaign therefore also looks at ways for young people to get more directly involved with the political system. These steps range from lowering the age to vote and the age for young people to run for leadership positions, to recognising new forms of youth participation and activism. It’s a really interesting read and I look forward to seeing how the campaign progresses.

It also gave me food for thought about the platforms and places where WriteUnite can work to grow the presence of young people’s opinions and ideas. Our Global Exhibition, coming later this year, is taking the ideas of young people to the streets of at least 10 cities around the world and as we think about the billboards and bus stops, we can’t help but wonder about who will pass by… Will young people be inspired? Will politicians see the words and pictures from young people and pause for a moment? And what comes next in 2023 – where can we take young people’s voices next?