The Leeds33 Youth Voice Manifesto brings awareness to three priorities and calls to action for organisations, to help empower children and young people through arts and culture in Leeds. The manifesto originated from the 2022 Youth Voice Summit in Leeds, hosted by LEEDS 2023 year of culture and co-created with a group of young leaders. The event provided a space for young people to express their attitudes and opinions towards culture in Leeds and aimed to mobilise the continuation of youth voice involvement, contribution and collaboration in the cultural life of the city. Responses from the range of discussions and provocations throughout the day were summarised, resulting in this manifesto’s three priorities.
The vision of the summit linked to the work of Leeds33 and, through its connection to LEEDS 2023, the creation of the manifesto became a focus for the Leeds33 Youth Voice Pod. The Pod is made up of individuals from various organisations and sectors across Leeds who champion youth voice and several members of the Pod were also involved in the Youth Voice Summit.
The Leeds33 Youth Voice Pod encourages the sharing of this manifesto widely amongst organisations as a tool for reflection and discussion. The Pod hopes it will support a better understanding of what children and young people want from arts and cultural activity in the city, whilst increasing awareness of the importance of youth voice within organisational practices and decision making. The calls to action also link to Wish 7 of the Child Friendly Leeds 12 Wishes campaign, reinforcing its relevance and importance today. We hope the manifesto will prompt organisations to reflect on whether these priorities and calls to action are already considerations within your work or could be embedded in the future. We welcome those reading to share the manifesto across any social media and communication platforms you use, and to respond with your thoughts to the question posed: How does your organisation empower children and young people through arts and culture in Leeds?
The Youth Voice Pod will take a deep dive into each priority over the coming months, sharing further resources and good youth voice practice over social media and the Leeds33 website. We also wish to raise awareness of the Leeds33 Youth Voice Pod as a group passionate about championing youth voice in the sector. The group meets every couple of months and new members are always very welcome to join! If you are an organisation or individual who would like support with youth voice or to join the Youth Voice Pod, please get in touch by emailing hello@leeds33.com.
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