Our Youth Board member Janah wrote about her experiences of the Youth Board Away Day last month and what we can expect from the group.
After the interference of the coronavirus pandemic, on Saturday 15th January the Youth Board at TMC had the opportunity to meet in-person for the group’s first Away Day.
As a charity ambitious about the empowerment of children and young people, the Youth Board are at the heart of TMC. With an agenda full of visioning, reflection, and lots of fun, the Away Day gave the Youth Board the space to reflect on the past, examine the present, and shape the future of TMC’s work.
The day consisted of discussions and exercises which brought the creative into the strategic, allowing our young people to showcase their identity as unique contributors to the charity whilst making real change. The board, in collaboration with TMC staff, voiced their opinions on the next steps for TMC and formed strategies to tackle the issues that are most important to young people today, such as the respect of the arts, accessibility and disabled rights, sustainability, and mental health (especially in light of the pandemic).
Highlights of the day included an origins exercise in which the board were encouraged to share their story, strengths and ambitions (with giant post-it notes and coloured pens at the ready), a visual mapping task in which teams of young people made collages reflecting their vision for TMC, and a placard-making session in which groups could identify, summarise and express a cause that they would march for. And of course, the pizza.
The Mighty Creatives’ Away Day was a refreshing take on a business meeting. The day was fun without being “dumbed down” or ineffective, and the young people were given equal opportunity to contribute to the strategy, business planning and overall image of the charity in the best interests of those we know best: young people.
As a Youth Board member and part of TMC’s target audience I felt that my ideas were truly valued and respected irrespective of my age, and it was inspiring to see the unique and invaluable experiences, abilities and perspectives of every member. Like many of my peers, I left the day feeling inspired and with a new sense of confidence in the power of creativity. The world needs more opportunities such as this, in which the younger generation are guided without being overpowered, and are seen as not only the future, but the present.
