The British Youth Council (BYC) ran the National Youth Council for the UK until its closure in March 2024. NYA is working to restore the institution to become an independent, young people-led charity. The intention is to work with young people and partners of the former BYC to enable the organisation to become an independent charitable entity, whose sole purpose is to represent the views of young people to government and decision makers.
The NYA has designed a comprehensive consultation exercise to gather the views of stakeholders on the value and future of a National Youth Council, the Young Ambassador programme and the role of youth voice and influence in the political infrastructure.
The project will involve a mix of focus groups with young people, group discussions and interviews with key stakeholders as well as an online survey (from November – December 2024). Youth voice is integral to the process, with young people with experience in youth voice supporting the co-production and delivery of a number of focus groups.
The feedback received through the various consultation activities will be analysed and will inform a recommendations report and proposal for potential funders and commissioners in March 2025.
There are two ways to engage in the formal consultation: an online digital consultation for stakeholders to complete and a youth-led focus group activity. Both can be accessed via the links below.
Take the survey
As part of the consultation, we are running a public survey to gather views on the future of the UK’s National Youth Council. Please take the time to complete the survey, which should take no more than 10-15 minutes to complete.
Conduct a focus group
We also encourage you to support the young people you work with to conduct a youth-led focus group to gather views on the future of the UK’s National Youth Council.
We’ve put together a handy 7-step ‘How To’ Guide along with a Topic Guide to support easy facilitation of the session.
Please submit your findings to nyc.consultation@nya.org.uk by 31 December 2024.
Find everything you need to know to plan and conduct your focus group here.
Learn more about the consultation here.
Thank you for taking the time to support this piece of work, we are committed to amplifying the voices of all stakeholders who engage with this consultation.