"Young people are the future and have the power to create huge change"
Kianna Leader, Youth Voice officer
As the largest non-statutory funder of children and young people in the UK, we are focused on ensuring young people’s voices are included in all our work. Helping to make that happen is Kianna Leader, a Youth Voice Officer here at The National Lottery Community Fund. In this blog she shares how she is helping to empower young people while developing her own skills and experience within the sector.
My journey in the sector started when I was working on the UN initiative to make Leeds the first women-friendly city in the UK through an organisation called Getaway Girls. I found it a really rewarding role as I was helping to make my city more equitable. A huge win for myself and the team was supporting the set-up of women's only vaccine centres and interviewing MP Dawn Butler. In 2020 I was recruited by the National Lottery Community Fund to be one of 10 young people, all from National Lottery funded projects, who would help to form a youth advisory panel known as Young People in the Lead (YPIL).
Young People in the Lead
YPIL aimed to bring about significant and positive change in communities by embedding youth voice in our grant making and other areas of the organisation. I had the best experience. I loved that I had the opportunity to share best practices with other funders, create an assessment toolkit for my colleagues here, and most importantly, make important connections.
Since YPIL was such a success, Youth Voice Teams were created in 2021 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. I jumped at the opportunity when the position of Youth Voice Officer came up and saw it as a chance to continue helping young people’s voices and opinions be heard. In this role, I’m responsible for ensuring all our Youth Voice Team members have a great experience full of training, networking, and lots of development opportunities.
It’s important to me that I create a mutually beneficial relationship between the other functions here and the Youth Voice Teams. I want the rest of The National Lottery Community Fund, such as the funding, strategy and knowledge and learning teams, to be able to work with the Youth Voice Teams to gather their insight on issues such as accessibility, mental health and employment. In return, my colleagues and peers gain exposure to the grant making sector, develop their skills and build connections.
Events
As a Youth Voice officer I’ve overseen several events. One was recently hosted in Birmingham and saw the Youth Voice Teams from across The National Lottery Community Fund come together with young people from other funders. The main aim of the event was to hear directly from young people on what the grant making sector could be doing better, with ideas and thoughts fed back to help shape our current strategy renewal.
The sheer enthusiasm in the room was phenomenal. We all heard the different Youth Voice Teams' journeys and their accomplishments. The best thing was that they not only had their voices heard on important issues, but also created a space where the voices of other young people could be amplified.
The Future
I’m relishing my role within the Youth Voice Team. I’m thrilled to be enhancing the experiences and skills of young people in the funding sector. Through amplifying underrepresented voices and creating space for people to advocate for themselves, my passion for making systemic change is being further enabled. I'd like to continue encouraging our Youth Voice Teams to have a voice and create meaningful bonds that will be beneficial for their future, just like I was encouraged to do when I first became a member of YPIL. Young people are the future and have the power to create huge change.