‘Young people want to be listened to’

The event, sponsored by PwC, attracted some 70 people to a day of talks and workshops at Les Beaucamps High School and also saw a question-and-answer session hosted by members of the Guernsey Youth Forum.

This was the first conference under new Youth Commission CEO Louise Leale and she said it had been decided to make young people in today’s world the topic.

The event focused on a range of subjects that affect young people including mental health, challenging behaviour, digital safety and AI developments.

‘We also had members of the Youth Forum giving us a day in the life of a young person,’ she said.

Most of those in the audience were people working with young people in any capacity and the event was also open to parents,

too.

There were representatives of the island’s Scouts and Girlguiding, Health & Social Care and some involved in education.

Head of youth engagement and development Tracy Fox said one message had come through clearly. ‘Young people want to be listened to,’ she said.

Among those taking part were members of the island’s Youth Forum, including Eva Redelinghuys, 16, who chaired a Q&A session with The Ladies’ College principal Daniele Harford-Fox: ‘I did a session on youth voice with Charley Bisson and Chloe-Taylor Sallis,’ she said.

‘We focused on what it really means to be heard, and what it means to be talked to and not to be talked at.’

Their session also looked at how others can undermine the voices of young people.

‘It would have been lovely to see some people from Education, but everyone who came to watch was really supportive, and it really felt like we were engaging with people.’