Youth-led London project receives almost £495,000 to empower the next generation of community leaders

A Greater London youth-led movement has received close to £495,000 to continue its work empowering young leaders through ‘Democracy Cafés’.

My Life My Say is passionate about helping young people find their voice and take part in vital community decision making. Its new funding comes from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK.

My Life My Say’s award-winning Democracy Cafés are a tribute to the 17th-century coffee house tradition, where members of society would come together and discuss local issues.

Over the years, the organisation has held over 700 cafés, reaching over 40,000 young people. The cafés have also spread far from London, taking place in towns and cities across the UK, including Aberdeen, Blackburn, Cardiff, Derry/Londonderry and Portsmouth.

Mete Coban, CEO of My Life My Say said: “My Life My Say began 11 years ago and was born out of a passion young people had about where they were from. However, there was also a deep-seated feeling their voices didn’t matter. So, we wanted to create spaces where young people can come together and feel connected to their communities and have active conversations about what they aspire to be and what the future of their neighbourhoods and country looks like.”

The project is completely participant-led, with the cafés taking place in venues where young people would ordinarily hang out or want to socialise. Instead of using guest speakers, the project puts speaking responsibilities in the hands of young people, and encourages informal conversations about how to solve some of the biggest challenges facing the country.

Taking part empowers young people to increase their confidence, improve their skills in debating and develop their understanding of civic engagement.

Mete Coban added: “Thanks to National Lottery players, this funding will enable us to be far more strategic and proactive. We’re only a small organisation, so this funding has given us the headspace to think about the future and how we perfect what we do. It will have a huge impact.”

Helen Bushell, Head of Regional Funding for London, the South East and East of England at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “We’re proud to support amazing projects like My Life My Say, which strengthen society and help young people thrive.

“Our latest Corporate Plan sets out our commitment to invest more than 90% of our grants to support at least one our four community-led missions: to enable communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, live healthier lives and to support children and young people to thrive.

“Over the next three years, we will dedicate more than 50% of our grants in communities experiencing greatest poverty and disadvantage.”

My Life My Say is one of over 1,000 charities and community groups across London and the South East of England to have received a share of over £52 million of National Lottery funding over the last four months. Across England, almost £203 million has been distributed to almost 4,000 community organisations in same time period.*

National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. Thanks to them, last year The National Lottery Community Fund was able to distribute over half a billion pounds (£615.4 million) of life-changing funding to communities.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk    

Date published: 16 July, 2024
Region: England (South East, London)

Notes to Editors

* These figures are for funding awarded from 25th February - 28th June 2024.

About The National Lottery Community Fund 

We are the largest non-statutory community funder in the UK – community is at the heart of our purpose, vision and name.

We support activities that create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable and that will strengthen society and improve lives across the UK.

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with Government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives.  

As well as responding to what communities tell us is important to them, our funding is focused on four key missions, supporting communities to:

1. Come together

2. Be environmentally sustainable

3. Help children and young people thrive

4. Enable people to live healthier lives.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, we distribute around £500 million a year through 10,000+ grants and plan to invest over £4bn of funding into communities by 2030. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.  

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £47 billion has been raised and more than 670,000 individual grants have been made across the UK - the equivalent of around 240 National Lottery grants in every UK postcode district.

Reaching Communities England

Offers a larger amount of funding (over £20,001) for projects that last up to five years. We’re looking for projects that work with their community – whether that’s a community living in the same area, or people with similar interests or life experiences.