Introducing the Young Leaders programme
By Toni Cook (Creative Producer) and Lauren Rogers (Project Manager)
The P.O.V. project is working to empower hundreds of young people from across Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire to influence change and inform social policy. That can’t happen without young people being at the centre of what happens next.
In spring 2021 we’re establishing Young Leaders, a new programme within P.O.V. that brings together an active group of 16-25 year olds to steer and shape the next phase of activity. Above and beyond guiding the project, the Young Leaders will channel their own lived experiences into compelling creative projects - getting hands on, making media and creative content that will influence public understanding and make an impact.
They’ll meet regularly throughout summer 2021 online and in person. It’ll be social, experimental and creative.
At the same time they’ll be gaining a recognised and professional accreditation in leadership - picking up key life, employment and digital skills that will boost social mobility and career opportunities.
Background
When the Rural Media team first talked through the ins and outs of what P.O.V’s young leadership group might look like and might set out to achieve, we were in the early stages of co-designing the P.O.V. survey and only part way through the consultation phase in Herefordshire.
We hadn’t yet combed through the rich, rewarding and sometimes conflicting results of the online questionnaire - results that revealed, without doubt, that 16-25 year olds in Herefordshire need space and a platform to tell their stories.
When the key findings of the survey surfaced, we knew that the first task of the Young Leaders group would be to explore and interrogate the data. Only 34% of the young people who took part in the survey identified as rural. Why and what’s the impact of that? Only 8% of young people in Herefordshire felt their views opinions and needs were represented. That’s bleak, so what needs to change, and how do we change it?
The Young Leaders will work together to unpack this fascianting data and identify ‘priority themes’ that will, in time, be the focus of future projects reaching across the Marches region.
Reflecting the ethos of P.O.V. and building on Rural Media’s background of supporting diverse rural voices to be heard, Young Leaders will be youth-led at every stage.
Please contact us if you’d like to find out more about the P.O.V. Young Leaders programme.
