On Thursday 27th March, I had the privilege of holding my first Youth Summit at Belle Vue Baptist Church in Southchurch.
Young people, youth organisations, and local secondary school leaders came together to discuss the issues facing them, as well as their hopes for the local area.
Thank you to all attendees
It was a great turnout on the night, we had well over 120 attendees and seats were scarce! I’m incredibly thankful that the community came out in such force for this important cause. We had a huge range of youth organisations in the room, including the YMCA, ATF and Send the Right Message to name but a few.
For me, the aim of the first summit was always about connecting up existing services, understanding where the gaps in provision are and listening to what young people want from their local area.
Something that was incredibly important to me from the get-go, was making sure that young people were prioritised in the discussion so that they knew how valued their voices are.
Concerns and aspirations
I asked attendees about their concerns, as well as what they would like to see in the local area. I deliberately kept these topics broad to provoke discussion and a number of vastly different themes were uncovered, from issues with education and housing to local leisure provision.
Many young people raised their concerns about safety in the city centre and asked for improved sports facilities, from bike lanes to table tennis courts.
I was in awe of how articulate, passionate, and brave the young people in the room were. I know how hard it can be to stand up in front of a crowd, but I am so glad they did because their voices are critical for us to move forwards.
I designated a section for each organisation present to explain what they do. We did this just before we broke into a networking session where young people were able to approach any organisations that had piqued their interest.
Next steps
This was the first in a series of youth engagement meetings for us to come together as a community and pave the way forwards. I am in the process of reaching out to attendees to understand how they want to shape the summits moving forwards.
I will also be feeding the summit’s findings into the Government’s National Youth Strategy and directly to the Secretary of State.
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by Bayo Alaba
MP for Southend East and Rochford
bayo.alaba.mp@parliament.uk