On 2nd June, Inspire joined hundreds of organisations across the country to celebrate Power of Youth Day 2026.
This year’s theme, Common Ground, encouraged organisations, communities and young people to come together, listen to one another and explore the issues that connect us. It was a powerful reminder that despite our different experiences, backgrounds and perspectives, there is often far more that unites us than divides us.
Across our services and venues, we created opportunities for young people to share their views, discuss the issues that matter most to them and contribute to conversations about the future they want to see.
For us, Power of Youth Day wasn’t simply about marking a date in the calendar. It was about reinforcing something that sits at the heart of everything we do: young people deserve to be heard, valued and involved in decisions that affect their lives.
Building on Conversations Started at the Suffolk Show
Power of Youth Day also provided an opportunity to reflect on the Youth Voice Hackathon we recently delivered at the Suffolk Show in partnership with the iWill Movement and Volunteering Matters.
The Hackathon brought together young people from across Suffolk to explore ideas, discuss challenges and identify opportunities for positive change within their communities.
The conversations were honest, thoughtful and, at times, challenging. Young people spoke openly about the issues affecting their lives, shared their hopes for the future and demonstrated just how much insight they have into the world around them. One thing became clear throughout the event: young people are not short of ideas, passion or solutions. What they need are meaningful opportunities to contribute and influence.
Power of Youth Day gave us another opportunity to continue those conversations and hear from even more young people across our services.
What We Heard
One of the biggest themes that came out of the day was the importance of having places for young people to simply be young people.
Many spoke about wanting more free, accessible spaces where they can meet friends, play sports, try new activities and feel part of their community. Having somewhere to go without worrying about cost was something that came up time and time again.
Young people also talked about the value of having trusted adults around who will listen, offer support and be there when they need someone to talk to.
It was clear that community spaces are about so much more than just a building or an activity. They are places where friendships are formed, confidence grows and young people feel a sense of belonging.
Throughout the conversations, young people told us how important it is to have spaces where they feel welcomed, valued and listened to, and how much of a difference those spaces can make in their lives.
These conversations reinforced why youth voice matters. The people closest to the challenges often have the clearest understanding of what needs to change.
Power of Youth in Action
Throughout Power of Youth Day, young people across Inspire continued these important conversations.
Across our venues, young people took part in dedicated youth voice sessions designed to explore the issues that matter most to them and identify the changes they would like to see in their communities.
We asked a simple question: What do you think decision-makers should know?
The responses were thoughtful, honest and varied. Some young people spoke about feeling safer in their communities and wanting stronger consequences for violent crime. Others suggested that public parks should stay open for longer and that additional CCTV could help people feel safer when using them.
Young people also highlighted the importance of looking after the most vulnerable members of their communities. One participant spoke about wanting food to be more affordable for people experiencing homelessness, showing the compassion and social awareness many young people bring to these conversations.
While the ideas differed, there was a common thread throughout the discussions. Young people care deeply about their communities and want to play an active role in shaping them. They are thinking about the challenges around them, considering possible solutions and looking for opportunities to have their voices heard.
One young person summed this up perfectly when they said:
“What I love about where I live is having friends and community.”
The day highlighted the importance of creating spaces where young people feel comfortable expressing themselves and confident that their views will be taken seriously. It also reinforced something we see every day at Inspire: when young people are given the opportunity to contribute, they have valuable perspectives to share and ideas worth listening to.
Why Youth Voice Matters
Too often, decisions are made about young people without young people being involved in the process.
At Inspire, we believe youth voice should be more than consultation. It should be embedded into how services are designed, how decisions are made and how communities shape their future.
The iWill Movement’s vision of empowering young people to make a difference in their communities aligns closely with our own commitment to ensuring young people are active participants, not passive recipients.
The young people we work with have valuable experiences, perspectives and ideas. When we create opportunities for those voices to be heard, everyone benefits.
Finding Common Ground
This year’s theme felt particularly relevant.
Throughout both the Suffolk Show Hackathon and Power of Youth Day activities, we saw young people come together from different backgrounds, experiences and communities.
While their individual stories were unique, many of the themes they discussed were shared.
The desire to feel heard.
The need for accessible opportunities.
The importance of belonging.
The hope for a positive future.
These are not issues that affect a single group of young people. They are challenges and ambitions shared across communities.
Finding common ground starts with listening to those experiences and recognising the value of every voice in the conversation.
What Happens Next?
Power of Youth Day may be over, but the conversations continue.
We are now collating the ideas, feedback and suggestions shared by young people through our Hackathon, Power of Youth Day activities and ongoing youth voice work to identify what we, as an organisation, can do next.
At Inspire, youth voice is not a tick-box exercise. The views, experiences and suggestions shared by young people are placed at the heart of everything we do, and we are already taking steps to act on what they tell us.
We’ve seen first-hand how listening to young people can shape our services. In previous youth voice sessions, young people told us they would like to see more activities available during drop-ins, including bingo, more baking sessions and greater use of the fire pit. They also asked for more trips and opportunities to get out into the community.
As a result, we’ve introduced more baking activities, organised a bowling trip and continued to look at ways to make our sessions more engaging and responsive to the interests of the young people who attend.
These may seem like small changes, but they demonstrate something important. Youth voice at Inspire doesn’t stop when a conversation ends. When young people tell us what matters to them, we look for ways to turn those ideas into action.
We are incredibly grateful to every young person who took part, shared their experiences and contributed their ideas.
Thank you for speaking up.
Thank you for challenging us.
Thank you for helping shape what comes next.
And that’s a commitment we’ll continue to build on long after Power of Youth Day has ended.
Because youth voice is not about giving young people a platform for a day.
It’s about ensuring they have influence every day.
