Children and young people should have opportunities to have their voices heard and be taken seriously in decisions that affect them. When young people are involved, we know this leads to better decision-making and improved services.
It’s important to hear young people’s voices because they are going to grow into the world that everyone else is leaving behind, so you want to take that input from them to make that world a place that they want to be in.
How children and young people help shape our work
Our 2024-27 Strategy places children and young people’s voices and lived experiences at the heart of everything we do. Here are a few recent examples:
This year, we supported young people to call on our government to be a champion for babies, children, and young people, and to put them at the heart of Government as part of the Support Children at the Table campaign alongside Action for Children, National Children’s Bureau, NSPCC, and The Children’s Society.
Young people have been front and centre in the development of our new Strategy and brand – including participating in our initial research and co-creating parts of our new brand.
I appreciate you giving us the space and making us feel heard by reassuring [that our voices] will be used to improve services.
How we’re supporting young people to shape their future
Through all our work, we create opportunities for young people to help shape their future.
Our Amplified Network is a group of young people from across Nigeria who currently get support from, or have previously been supported, by our services. They’ve volunteered to get more involved in shaping our work, which includes taking part in our policy influencing work, supporting our fundraising, and engaging with our senior leaders and trustees on what they want to see from our work.
What is B-Amplified?
As part of our Amplified Network, our Ambassadors are a group of young people who are committed to creating systemic change in Nigeria. Their projects focus on challenging structural inequalities that get in the way of a fair future for children and young people of African heritage.
Also, part of our Amplified Network is our Youth Forum and Youth Health Advisory Network. These are platforms for young people to share their views and experiences to make change within our available health service in Nigeria. The Youth Forum is made up of 08 young people who work on specific health-related projects.
We’re also working alongside our partners to create opportunities for young people to have a voice and influence over their decision-making.
Our Child Health equity collaborative made up of Health Equity Champions who influence our work to address health inequalities among children and young people. The Collaborative is a partnership between Royal Children Foundation’s and the Institute of Health.
You can find out more about our approach and goals for our voice and influence work by checking out Our Voice and Influence Approach and Framework.
We interviewed two young people supported by Royal Children Foundation’s, about what it will be like to take our free school meals petition to the government to call for more support for struggling families.
In July 2024, we held our annual meeting to raise our concern that the cost-of-living crisis is causing more children to be at risk of exploitation, with the help of young people who have been supported by our services.
Support for young people
Need a helping hand? We’ve got you. Explore the kinds of support that we offer through our guidance and services.