Category: News

Youth Fest is a free event that highlights the variety of services, clubs and events that support children and young people. It is open to children, families, and of course, young people.  Come along to see Tokko and their smoothie bike, Mary Seacole and their LYFE project, and other organisations such as PRIDE, Beds Police, Luton Town Kicks and BellaBoxing, with crafts, VR experiences, silent disco, games, penalty shoot outs and much more! We will also have local young people taking on the bandstand for themselves, with music from The Lime Stones, solo artists and bands from the local area! From 12-4 at Wardown Band Stand!

Two inspiring teenagers from Luton have been elected to represent the town in the UK Youth Parliament, where they’ll work to ensure young people’s voices are heard on both local and national issues. The newly elected Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) will focus on key priorities identified by young people in Luton, including education, mental health, and youth safety. Both MYPs expressed their passion for making a difference and pledged to bring the concerns of their peers into real political spaces. One of them stated: “Your voice does matter. I want to make sure people across Luton feel heard.” Read the full article here:Luton teens representing the town in Youth Parliament – Luton Today

A few of us attended a conference in Milton Keynes around Mental Health Services, including how we feel they are accessible to young people.  We had our second cross bedfordshire youth voice meeting – named Big Beds United, where we voted on a group campaign, which will be around Period Poverty. Look out for more updates about this in future! We hosted an exploitation event targeted at helping parents learn more about the signs to watch out for and who to ask for help. One of our Members of Youth Parliament was also graciously invited to speak at the Full Council Meeting, where the new Mayor, Councillor Amy Nicholls took over the role from Councillor Tahmina Saleem. Both Councillors are great advocates for young people and we are grateful for their support. Did you see us at the Carnival? We were privileged to meet many members of the public and those within the carnival, asking what you thought about the carnival and its value in celebrating the diversity of cultures in Luton. We even interviewed the new Mayor dressed as the sun! We also hosted our first event – a fundraising cafe for PoetsIn, a mental health charity in Bedfordshire who rely on donations to support young people in the area.  I think its time for a break – dont you!?

The youth council, as part of their mental health campaign, are hosting a fun and creative Fundraising Wellbeing Café at the new Family Hub in Central Library. It is aimed at young people and families to engage in crafts and activities, as well as a wellbeing workshop with PoetsIn. It will be a pay what you can for drinks, cakes and crafts, with all money going to poets in: https://www.poetsin.com/ Please come along and get involved!

In April, our young people at Raynham Way Youth Club were lucky to engage with a knife crime awareness session delivered by PC Ommer Khan from the Community Cohesion team at Bedfordshire Police. The session highlighted the dangers, consequences and impact of carrying and using knifes. We were able to ask all the questions we wanted which included “what is knife crime” and “how do you help prevent knife crime?” Thank you to PC Khan for coming by!  Fancy popping along? Email @abdul.halim@luton.gov.uk for more information! Youth Club Dates for 11 to 12 years of age Youth Club Dates for 8 to 10 years of age age group

It started with the Chair attending a Luton 2040 Partnership meeting to make sure young people’s voices have a seat at the table when thinking about how our town moves towards the 2040 vision. Over half of the Youth Council were trained to be part of a new Young Leadership Programme, with training also being delivered by the previous cohort’s Chair, too! You may have seen us out and about in the town centre asking people their views on Child Friendly Town as well as the other priorities for Luton 2040. Check out our social media pages to look at some of these interviews! Our Chair, Vice Chair and one of Luton’s Members of Youth Parliament were also privileged to be invited to a workshop on the National Youth Strategy, with Rachel Hopkins, MP for Luton South and South Bedfordshire, and Sarah Owen, MP for Luton North. We shared our hopes and fears for young people, and hopefully ensured that we shared your views.  The Youth Council also had Afternoon Tea with the Mayor, Councillor Tahmina Saleem, before her term as Mayor ends. Councillor Saleem has always been a great advocate for Youth Voice, and we are grateful to have her support! We are also continuing to work on our Mental Health and Disability Awareness Campaigns, with events planned for next month and in July. Keep checking here to find out more!

Following a time of planning and co-production with a range of young people open to the service, the new YPS Intervention Plan – ‘My Journey’ was officially launched for March. Every young person open to our own survey will be involved in creating their own intervention plan, setting goals and reflecting on their experience. Thank you to all young people who got involved with the process!! 

Mary Seacole delivered an interactive session on exploitation, using their VR system to showcase the TAPOUT app. Luton Sexual Health kindly joined Tokko for a session, engaging with our members on the topic of healthy relationship and exploring what these look like.  Our final visit was from Caraline, a charity that specialises in supporting people through eating disorders. Two staff members kindly donated their evening to engaging with our members and answering the questions the young people had.  As we look ahead to April, our focus is on staying Active, so members will get to use the onsite gym facilities, as well as enjoying external providers coming in to give a boxing session to our members. We concluded March by having a pre-Eid celebration with traditional south eastern food and henna.

Ali and Yousuf, from Luton Sixth Form College and Denbigh High School, were elected through being part of the Luton Youth Council, and joined debates throughout the day to decide on The UK Youth Parliament Manifesto 2024-2026 “Shaping Our Future, Today Not Tomorrow” which will be coming out as part of the sitting. There were a number of debate options and following much discussion and voting from the Members of Youth Parliament from across the UK, the final vote was for 16 and 17 year olds to get the vote, and Period Dignity. All this shaped by our very own young people. When we talk about being Child Friendly, not much else gets close, when we can truly shape the future of the town and the country, led by our children and young people’s voice.

If you’re interested in learning to cook in a fun way, we welcome you to Open Door! Last year we looked at dishes from around the world and as we moved into Veganuary, and we looked into meat free alternatives. Heading into February young people have been taking the lead and have picked dishes around their culture, such as Macaroni Pie and Jerk Pasta! We may have some exciting news to follow, so stay tuned.