Youth Civic Leadership Programme - what should it be about?

What do young people need to know and understand to take part in their community?

We need to encourage young people in Southwark to become civic leaders in the future.

We are setting up a Youth Civic Leadership Programme.

This aims to:

empower young people with the knowledge, skills, and values needed to become effective civic leaders and;
understand how civic engagement can positively impact the community where they live.

We want to work with young people to design the programme.

Right now, we want to hear from you about what the programme should include.

Give us your ideas at the link below. You can also read and comment on other ideas.

Every suggestion will be considered and help to build a better programme.

Phases

Phases overview

Phase 1: What should it be about?

What should it be about?

5 June 2025 23:00 - 23 June 2025 23:00

We want to your ideas about what the programme should be about. What should young people be learning and what does leadership mean to you?

6 ideas

Sarah H1 year ago Young people need greater exposure to what civics is! They probably have never seen a townhall or town meeting or understand what it means to represent your community or what groups exist in their local community. They need greater exposure to civic duty and civic activities in real life to understand it first before they can aspire to participate in the future. Working with local schools to give younger students while they are still in primary school visibility of real life and how community groups work and what town councils are all about is very important and doesn't happen today.

Obi James1 year ago Youth Civic Leadership Programme should focus on equipping young people to navigate diverse systems, especially those lacking inclusive leadership. Essential skills include constructive communication, identifying and leveraging mentoring and sponsorship opportunities, and effectively advocating for their own needs. Pitching, inflencing and negotiation skills will support this. In this context, leadership also means building and navigating relationships, managing challenging interactions, and developing a strong personal brand and professional image. It encompasses cultivating confidence, valuing individual diversity, and intentionally increasing visibility. Additionally, current leaders must be trained to nurture and empower youth effectively. Programmes such as 'Leader As Coach' can develop existing leaders learn to step back and create opportunities for emerging leaders, fostering a balanced, dynamic, and sustainable leadership ecosystem that fully engages and develops young people.

Jo Barclay1 year ago Many of us benefit from support to develop our communication skills. This can unlock a vast amount of talent which may otherwise stay unexpressed. Cultivation of basic awareness of how to use our voices effectively, oracy skills and practicing developing dialogue is hugely beneficial and has been shown to have a significant outcomes. (E.g. See the evidence from organisation’s such as Voice 21 and Education Endowment Fund). These are essentials skills in any leadership course.It is particularly important that we hear more voices which might otherwise be unheard, and have valuable contributions to make. And support a wide range of people from all backgrounds to become confident communicators and leaders.

Orphée Soro1 year ago I think that there should be more advertised opportunities for young people living in Southwark, particularly for those from low income families. Whether it's volunteering, workshops or work experience, I believe that many will benefit from those opportunities. It can be quite difficult to find experience that can prepare young people for post-18 life so increasing that accessibility would be incredibly beneficial. By having individuals who have succeeded through those opportunities as Young Civic Leaders would also display a commitment to wanting to improve academic achievements outside of school for young people.

Jonathan Hamston 1 year ago

Anonymous 1 year ago

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Youth Civic Leadership Programme - what should it be about?

What is a civic leader?

Phases

What should it be about?

6 ideas

Exposure

Leadership Development for Future Civic Leaders AND Current Leaders

To develop skills in dialogue/ oracy and debate. Most of us benefit from some support, important to share diverse ideas

Youth Opportunities

Training on how government works

Younger people should always be mindful of their elders with respect and with an understanding that they were once young

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Youth Civic Leadership Programme - what should it be about?

What is a civic leader?

Phases

What should it be about?

6 ideas

Exposure

Leadership Development for Future Civic Leaders AND Current Leaders

To develop skills in dialogue/ oracy and debate. Most of us benefit from some support, important to share diverse ideas

Youth Opportunities

Training on how government works

Younger people should always be mindful of their elders with respect and with an understanding that they were once young

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