Emma talks passionately about the power of sharing resources and opportunities at a very local level so that people can not only have a say in the services and opportunities they can access but be a part of making things happen. She talks about the discrepancy in funding and support to make this happen in London and Manchester. Emma talks about how volunteering eased her climate anxiety and created opportunities for her to work with larger organisations to support youth participation in decisions making. She talks about the different powers and influences in how decisions are made and the risk and levels of tokenism in not investing time, energy and resources into ensuring people can truly participate. Emma would like there to be a responsibility for MPs to take youth engagement seriously and create opportunities that feel safe and accessible.
This story was gathered by a youth advocate from the Equality Trust as part of a project called Reconstructing the Social Contract. 10 young people trained as community reporters and spoke to people aged between 16 and 25 in the United Kingdom to explore what impacts young people's life chances and their relationship with the state.
