Imagine a world where every young person feels empowered to take action. This is the vision that fuelled the launch of Mission 44’s Youth Empowerment Strategy, created in collaboration with their Youth Advisory Board, which I am proud to be a member of.

In the youth social action space there are a lot of buzzwords that repeatedly get thrown around, ‘empowerment’ being one of them. I like to step back and reflect on what these words really mean to me. For me, empowerment is all about autonomous self-belief, because it’s not always as simple as believing in yourself, it’s also about having the ability to turn that self-belief into action.

As a Youth Advisory Board, reflecting on our lived experiences is at the centre of what empowerment means for us. The beauty of our Board is that, due to our diverse backgrounds, we are all reflecting on different experiences which inform our perspectives.

Mission 44 as an organisation is constantly striving for young people to be at the heart of their mission. As a Youth Advisory Board we have been able to truly break down what this means and how it should look, rather than being a tokenistic youth Board. This has made our role truly unique, and hopefully has a positive influence on other organisations.

Through the Youth Empowerment Strategy (YES), we have crafted the nature of collaboration between Mission 44, the Youth Advisory Board, and external young people. This strategy will be integral in maintaining high standards and effective intergenerational relationships that fulfil Mission 44’s aim of having young people at the centre of its work. I also hope that we can inspire organisations and other young changemakers to embed the YES principles in their work.

Young people being changemakers in our society is more important than ever. As our society, both in the UK and internationally, faces so many challenges, the same ‘solutions’ tried time and time again will not be enough. Decision-makers claim that, as young people, we just “don’t know what we’re talking about”, when in fact we do. Just because your perspective is different, does not make it wrong. In order to drive positive social change, we need innovative thinking, new perspectives and critical minds. Young people are fundamental to this.

Too many young people, myself included, know what it’s like for their voice to be deemed of little worth. Fast forward to the present day and I want every young Neisha out there to feel empowered the way I do now.

It’s also important to emphasise the role we all have in promoting the empowerment of young people. Whether you’re a teacher, a parent, or simply a friend, your support and encouragement goes further than you know. When you believe in young people, you make them believe in themselves.

As Mission 44 Youth Advisory Board members, we play a key role in modelling the representation we wish to see, which we hope can be its own way of empowering young people to be drivers of social change. I truly believe the world has only seen the beginnings of what we can do.

Alongside the launch of this Youth Empowerment Strategy, we have already begun defining a programme based on our own lived and learnt experiences, and we are committed to engaging young people throughout this process. I’m excited about the progress we’ve made and look forward to sharing our project later this year.

Neisha, Mission 44
Youth Advisory Board member