Joined Up Summit puts young people first

Experts and decision-makers from across youth work, health and education and more gathered together in a bid to transform outcomes for young people across the country. 

The inaugural Joined Up Summit welcomed more than 500 leaders and decision-makers from the worlds of employment, social care, criminal justice, business and the Government – including Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England – as well as health, education and youth work, alongside 16-25-year-olds, in a bid to build a brighter future for young people, by putting their needs first. 

In a message to delegates at the event in Birmingham, youth and civil society minister Stephanie Peacock said: “It’s crucial that inside and outside Government we give young people as many chances and choices as possible. We’re committed to ensuring opportunities are not limited because of where people live or their background. I know the impact positive activities, as well as education, family and health support can have on a young person’s life.

“The change we want to create is big and because of that, the Government cannot do it alone. This is why an event like the Joined Up Summit is so important. It’s wonderful to have people from so many sectors coming together to learn together, exchange best practice and discuss potential solutions.”

The day – co-created by a team of young producers – was based around the four themes of Our Potential, Our Communities, Our Power and Our Wellbeing. Sessions and workshops at the event at The Vox Conference Venue included Fostering Connections, by Finsbury Park-based Leap Confronting Conflict, and Unleashing Our Power Through Football, by Children in Wales, alongside young people-led Ted talks and co-creation labs,

Closing the summit, Ndidi Okezie OBE, outgoing chief executive officer of UK Youth, which convened the event, said: “It’s been a privilege to see you all here. We feel so passionate about the need for people to come together, to get professionals who work together across all sectors connected by their focus on young people to work in lockstep with young people in an organic, ongoing way.”

Alex Kenmure, head of partnerships at RockCorps, which uses music and culture to inspire young people to volunteer and engage with their community, was among those at the summit. He said: “I really enjoyed it. It’s a testament to the organisers as to the sort of people they have brought together. Everyone I spoke had really enjoyed it and taken an awful lot from the conversations. It’s made me think a lot about who I should be joining up with more.”

The summit, which was funded by KKR, Osborne Clarke, The Prudence Trust, the Youth Futures Foundation, the National Citizen Service, Big Change and Blagrave, also saw the announcement of the Joined Up Institute and Youth First.

The institute is a year-round cross-sector experiential learning initiative, bringing together young people with the youth, education, employment, health, social care, criminal justice, business, government, and civil society sectors to scale evidence of what works in a bid to transform outcomes for young people across the UK.

Ndidi told delegates: “We saw this summit as a taster to help you realise how unique it was to enter spaces outside your immediate bubble, spaces that had been co-created and delivered and developed by young people with young people for young people, so we are launching the Joined Up Institute.

“This is our offering to say there needs to be a space, an ongoing environment where professionals right across different sectors know they can come together to share learning and expertise, to grapple with problems and to understand what is working.”

Youth First is a pioneering accelerated leadership development programme that will attract a new pipeline of talented youth work leaders to transform services and change the lives of young people.

Ndidi said UK Youth wanted to “inspire a new generation of youth workers to come into one of the best jobs you can possibly do, to bring more people into this incredible sector”.

UK Youth is a leading charity with a vision that all young people are equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. With an open network of more than 9,000 youth organisations and nation partners; UK Youth reaches more than four million young people across the UK and is focused on unlocking youth work as the catalyst of change that is needed now more than ever. To find out more, visit ukyouth.org 

UK Youth is involved in a range of programmes designed to help young people thrive, such as outdoor learning, physical literacy, social action and employability. For more on UK Youth’s programmes, see ukyouth.org/what-we-do/programmes