Revolutionising youth community engagement through place-based youth engagement events | EmpowerHaverhill

Community Action Suffolk held its EmpowerHaverhill event in November 2023 at Haverhill Arts Centre. They aimed to facilitate dialogue and collaboration between young people and decision-makers across Haverhill, Suffolk.  With the support of Community Action Suffolk (funded by People’s Health Trust), local organisations within the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors can gain guidance, training and access to events such as EmpowerHaverhill to help them operate more effectively.

The event provided a platform for both parties to share their perspectives on strengthening youth community engagement and participation activities with young people as equal partners. Despite the challenging weather conditions on the day, the event saw remarkable attendance, with 23 young people and seven decision-makers participating. All actively working to build a brighter future for young people as active partners and experts in shaping their community.

Key Objectives

To ensure the EmpowerHaverhill place-based event went smoothly, Participation People worked alongside the team at Action Suffolk to set four key objectives and drive successful outcomes for youth community engagement in Haverhill:

• • Strengthen mechanisms for senior leaders to engage with young people regularly for informed decision-making.

• • Design and facilitate a place-based event with twice as many young people as professionals.

• • Co-produce a Term of Reference and Youth Engagement Charter for governance groups to better engage with young people’s insights.

• • Produce an event and workstrand learning and insight report to share learning and youth insights leading to better, more meaningful, and more informed youth decisions.

Outcomes

EmpowerHaverhill served as a testament to the power of youth community engagement in decision-making processes. And, despite external challenges, the event fostered meaningful dialogue, collaboration, and learning between young people and decision-makers, achieving tangible outcomes that included: 

• Youth community engagement charter: Young people worked alongside politicians, public sector and youth development professionals to co-create a values-based set of principles to ensure everyone working with young people could strengthen their youth participation, engagement and co-production activities. Principles such as creating safe and inclusive environments, encouraging expression, and fostering participation and belonging were highlighted throughout the Charter.
• High participation: Despite adverse weather conditions, including local flooding and high winds, the event saw a high turnout of young people, demonstrating their enthusiasm and interest in participating in place-based decision-making.

“Young people want to take part and participate, all they need is the space and support to do so.”

– Antonia Dixey, CEO and Founder of Participation People

• Learning and insight: Decision-makers acknowledged learning something new from the event, emphasising the value of youth perspectives in informing decision-making. Additionally, senior decision-makers recognised the need for further youth community engagement work, indicating a commitment to ongoing collaboration.
• Template development: The event facilitated the co-production of a template Terms of Reference for further consultation with governance groups and young people, aiming to streamline and enhance the engagement of young people’s insights in decision-making processes.
• Future action: The event highlighted the importance of transparent communication, responsiveness, and empowerment to embed meaningful youth community engagement across systems and services. Moving forward, decision-makers committed to actively engaging with young people’s views, implementing their suggestions, and promoting inclusivity and engagement in all community initiatives.

Summary

EmpowerHaverhill significantly advanced youth community engagement in Suffolk through effective dialogue and collaboration between young people and decision-makers. Despite the setbacks from the weather on the day, the event facilitated the co-creation of a Youth Engagement Charter, set a framework for ongoing participation through a Terms of Reference, and provided valuable insights encapsulated in a detailed report. 

The event was undeniably successful in fostering an inclusive, responsive, youth community engagement where young people are not only heard but are integral to the decision-making process – ensuring sustainable, youth-informed initiatives are implemented going forward.

Testimonial:

By adhering to the principles outlined in the Youth Engagement Charter and committing to ongoing collaboration and action, Haverhill aims to build a brighter future with young people as active partners and experts in shaping their community.

“Participation People used their expertise and worked with the young people to highlight gaps and blockages to their voices being heard, to build sustainable mechanisms and ensure continued engagement and accountability by decision-makers. Haverhill is now in a solid position, energised to work together with an understanding of what can be achieved by taking this approach. With these building blocks in place, I’m excited to see what happens next.”

• Jay Mills, Community Development Worker, Community Action Suffolk