Youth Spark is swiftly approaching its first birthday, having been launched on 31 May last year. To celebrate this, Youth Spark will host a community event at The Citadel Youth Centre on 1 June. As we prepare for what is sure to be an amazing day of showcasing the work completed this year, I thought it would be the perfect time to reflect on some things that have been achieved so far. As a Student Youth & Community Worker, Youth Spark has been an amazing opportunity to put youth-led approaches into action.

My work has focused on Youth Spark’s second group, made up of young people passionate about drama, music, and film. Together we have delved into an array of different issues. Youth Spark aims to provide creative and thought-provoking activities. A personal favourite has been a simple string activity which resulted in a spider-web of ideas. Standing in a circle we threw a ball of wool around the group.

Over two rounds each person answered:

1. What is your favourite tech platform/app? and
2. How have you seen tech/digital platforms being used in theatre/music/film?

The activity helped to provide a visual mapping of the skills and experiences within the group. It also helped to illustrate how digital youth work can be interwoven into more hands-on group work.

Each Youth Spark session aimed to generate discussion on issues the young people faced with the aim of making a digital resource to share within their community. Discussions were varied but we found that they wanted to talk about ageing, how AI might impact jobs in the future, gender equality, and the impact of Covid-19.

In earlier sessions I had thought that due to their love of drama and theatre, the young people would like to create a play to be filmed and shared across different media platforms. As the project progressed, the young people became interested in making a podcast. This is the beauty of youth-led practice. Their ideas have helped Youth Spark to thrive, and we are now working to produce a podcast discussing how Covid-19 has impacted school and peer relationships. I’m extremely excited to see what they produce.

During my time with the group, I have seen young people become more confident in sharing their opinions. They have developed fantastic communication skills, and they are more assured in their creative ideas. I’ve learned how Youth Spark works to recognise and value the partnership between young people and youth workers. Through co-production and the use of innovative technology, the Youth Spark project helps to create and hold space for young people to become active citizens.  It acts as a reminder that in these precarious times, where cuts continue to impact youth workers across the country, it is important to remain committed to the essential values of youth work.

But don’t just take my word for it. Join us on June 1^st to find out more about the project and ways to get involved!